


A New Snake

by Ivy_Marie



Series: A New Life [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter) - Freeform, M/M, OOC Severus Snape, Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter), Other, Slow Burn, Triwizard Tournament, female oc - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-08-10 15:10:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 37
Words: 48,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20137486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ivy_Marie/pseuds/Ivy_Marie
Summary: Harry Potter starts off his Fourth Year going to the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasleys, a happy reprieve from the torture that is the Dursleys. He could tell that it was going to be a good year. Everything would finally go right. He wouldn't have to deal with scheming wizards or plots on his life. He could enjoy school. But the Quidditch World Cup wasn't the only significant affair of the year and the events that are written out in this narration would change the life of Harry Potter, for good.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The Harry Potter Franchise belongs the one and only JK Rowling and her associates. I do not own any similar themes, characters, or events.

Harry knew this year was going to be great. He could feel it. Any school year that started with going to the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasleys had to be a good year.

Today was the day the Weasleys would come get him from the Dursleys. He's looked forward to this day every year since he went to Hogwarts. He had all of his things packed up. His school things, wand, and clothes were in his trunk waiting by the front door. He sat alone in his room writing a letter to Sirius while he waited. He had just sent it off with Hedwig with orders to go to the Weasleys' after when a knock sounded on the front door. He rolled up his parchment, stoppered his ink, and carried them and his quill downstairs where Aunt Petunia was opening the door for none other than Arthur Weasley, the twins, and Ron. She said nothing but stepped quickly out of the room once she saw Harry at the bottom of the steps.

Mr Weasley saw him quickly as well and gave a very amiable greeting, "Hello there, Harry. Ready to go?" Harry nodded, trying not to laugh as the twins messed with Ron in the background. He enjoyed their antics but was immensely glad that they weren't aimed towards him. Arthur grabbed Harry's trunk after he replaced the stationery, shrunk it, and put it in his pocket. Together they walked to their new car—it was just inconvenient to get Harry by magical means, the way his guardians were—and loaded into it. It didn't take very long for them to get to the Burrow. This time, the only thing the car was enhanced with was the extra space. Mrs Weasley was willing to allow that, but no more, and only because it was enormously useful. Mrs Weasley came out the door wiping her hands on a flour-covered apron and quickly wrapped her arms around Harry.

"Are you hungry, Harry, dear? You look positively bone-thin. Come in, come in. I've got some biscuits waiting with your name on them." Harry couldn't help but grin as the red-headed family bustled inside and he followed, willing to take Mrs Weasley up on that offer of biscuits. When he came into the house, Hermione stood quickly from the couch where she had been reading and wrapped her arms around Harry just as tightly as Mrs Weasley had. When she finally released him, Ron came up from behind her and clapped a hand on his shoulder. They hugged a little, then Ron led Harry to their room. He got himself settled while he ate biscuits and Ron ranted about the Chudley Cannons. Harry enjoyed this, a breath of fresh air from having to fight an evil dark lord or put up with his horrible relatives.

When he was all settled, the two went downstairs. As soon as they reached the bottom, Mrs Weasley called everyone in for supper. The table was covered in all kinds of delicious home-made foods. Harry was almost drooling as he hastily knicked a roll from the bread basket on his end of the table because, soon after, that basket was empty and more rolls were making their way fresh from the pan and towards the basket. Instead of reaching their target, they were snatched out of the air by hungry hands. The room was silent as they all took a while to just eat.

It wasn't long before everyone, except a few Weasley boys—including Ron—were done. Everyone sat in the living room while Mrs Weasley's magic did the work of cleaning up. As Harry sat on the old couch, smiling as the twins messed with Ron and Ginny, he couldn't help but think, I'm so glad I'm here. I'm glad I met Ron and Hermione. I'm happy. Hermione watched him from over the top of her book in an armchair across from him as a true smile broke out on his face. She smiled from behind the cover of pages and returned to her book. She knew Harry had a hard time; she was happy he could find sanctuary here.

The family and their guests—who might as well have been family—spent much of the night chatting excitedly about the Quidditch world cup, and whether Ireland or Bulgaria would win. Soon, they all went to bed. There was a lot to do tomorrow and they would have to get up bright and early if they wanted a good spot to put their tent. Harry vaguely wondered how all of the Weasleys would fit in one tent, but couldn't be bothered much to think about it. He was too tired to be worried about something like that, and he figured he'd find out soon enough. So he slept, and the house was quiet—other than the occasional hoots of the family owl and Hedwig or Ron's quiet snores in the room near him. By now he'd learnt to ignore the creaks of the ghoul in the attic, so it didn't bother him. He fell into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

~ ~ ~ ~

When Hermione came in to wake the boys up, it was decidedly too early for both of them. But soon the excitement of the Quidditch World Cup overcame their grumpiness as they packed some things and hurried downstairs to eat breakfast. Before long, the large group was making their way up the hill near the Burrow. On top of the aforementioned hill was simply an old boot. As they reached the crest, Harry could see two more people coming up the other side of the hill. From what Harry could see in the poor lighting, it was a man and a teenage boy who must have been 17 at least. Harry vaguely recognized the teen's face as a Hufflepuff three years ahead of him. Harry thought he was a Prefect.

When the pair finally reached them, Mr Weasley and the man shook hands, "Arthur! How are you?"

"I am well, Amos. And you?" the man—Amos—nodded the affirmative. "And I'm guessing this is Cedric? You've grown! I'd bet you're a Seeker to be reckoned with!"

With those words, Harry remembered the Hufflepuff. He was the Hufflepuff Seeker who beat Gryffindor that past year because of Harry's problems with the Dementors; he'd passed out mid-air. Harry remembered hearing that the Seeker—also the Team Captain—had tried to convince the teachers to let them have a rematch. He hadn't felt he had won fairly. A glance at Ron told Harry that he was remembering the same thing, but with a far less forgiving outlook. Ron didn't like Cedric because of what had happened. Harry understood and commended the Hufflepuff's actions to try to fix something he saw as wrong. Ron didn't see it that way. While he was in his head, the group had each reached down and grabbed hold of a part of the boot.

"C' mon, Harry. Grab hold." Mr Weasley urged, looking quickly at his watch. He saw Hermione and all of the others had a hand on some part of the boot as well. Hesitantly, he grabbed the only real space left, a stray shoelace, and seconds later the group was picked up and dumped somewhere new. Everyone but the Diggorys—as he had soon remembered their name was—and Mr Weasley had fallen back onto the grass. The other three stood tall, reaching down to help the others up. Harry was searching for his glasses, which had somehow gotten lost on the journey when a hand holding said glasses showed itself in front of him. He thanked whoever it was and quickly put his glasses on his face. Looking up, he saw that the hand was still outstretched and it was connected to Cedric. Harry gladly took the offer and let the young man help pull him up. He dusted himself off and the two joined the rest of the group.


	2. Chapter 2

The group split once they dropped the portkey off, the Diggorys going one way and the Weasley and their guests going the other. The match wasn't until later that evening, so they had some time to kill before they had to make their way to the stadium. Some of them decided to use this time to get some rest in, namely Ron, while the others stayed up. Even so early in the morning, vendors were trekking between the rows of tents, each bigger on the inside than the outside, much like in that muggle television show Doctor Who. When Harry first saw the tent, he was disbelieving that they would all fit in something so small. But as Weasley after Weasley piled in, Harry summoned some Gryffindor courage—experiencing something unknown is always a little frightening—and stuck his head in, finding not a small tent, but a large room. There were tons of beds and bunk beds, and there was a door which must have been a bathroom. There were a stove and couches. There was a dining room with a long table. Harry would never cease to be amazed by magic.

Harry took turns playing Wizard Chess with the twins while Ron slept the day away and Hermione sat comfortably huddled already reading one of their school books. Harry and the twins had a more or less equal win-loss ratio when Ron finally emerged from his blankets. To no one's surprise, the first thing he wanted to know about was food. So Mr Weasley set out a picnic basket Mrs Weasley had filled to the brim with food. Even though it was a rather large basket, there was no way all the food that came out could fit it. He figured it must be the same magic as with the tent.

Fred and George got bored with playing chess after that, but Ron was happy to oblige Harry. After a while of being brutally beaten, Harry gave up and went for a walk, hoping to find a vendor so he could get himself and Ron some things for the game. He was hoping to try out the Omnioculars. Not to mention the tiny moving figures of the players from both teams. He was sure Ron would want to pay him back, but he just wanted to do something nice for his friend. Not to mention being in that tent for so long, no matter how spacious on the inside, was stuffy and he was tired of doing the same thing for hours on end.

As he was leaving, Hermione looked up from her book, concern showing clearly on her face. "I'm fine, "He answered her unspoken question, "I just need a bit of air. Been in here for too long. I'll be back soon." She nodded and returned to her book, though she didn't look entirely convinced. That wasn't a surprise, however. She was, after all, still concerned about Harry's nightmares and scar. Still, she let him leave without a fuss.

He wandered, taking in the view and admiring the setups of the other witches and wizards. As he wandered he passed several vendors, taking the first chance to buy what he wanted and spending a bit more time exploring. It just so happened that he came upon the Diggorys while he wandered. "Hello again, Harry." Cedric greeted. Harry was so much in thought he hadn't noticed him.

"Hi, Cedric. Are you and your father set up?"

"Yeah, we're ready to go. Did your friend—Ronald Weasley, was it?—get some rest? He seemed rather tired at the portkey."

Harry chuckled, "Yeah. He just woke up a little while ago. I didn't sleep, I probably wouldn't be able to; I'm too excited."

Cedric chuckled as well, "Your first World Cup, is it?" Harry blushed slightly in embarrassment but nodded the affirmative. He looked at his watch, it was later than he had thought.

"I probably need to get back. Hermione will begin to worry soon. I'll see you soon?" Cedric nodded and Harry turned back the way he came. He had to dodge and angry, white peacock when he passed a rather extravagant looking tent, but continued on his way. They would need to leave for the Stadium soon and he didn't want to hold them up, so he picked up his pace.

When he returned, Hermione had her hands on her hips with that tell-tale look on her face, "Where have you been?" She admonished, "I've been worried sick! You need to be more careful."

Harry quickly dodged her glare and got in the tent where Ron was waiting for him. "Where were you, mate? Hermione was getting unbearable."

"I was getting these." He handed Ron his share of merchandise and left the tent before Ron could say anything in protest. He joined Mr Weasley and the twins as they all gathered what they needed and began to make their way to the stadium. Children ran around them as they walked, laughing, giggling and chasing each other as their parents watched on nervously.

It was a good thing they decided to leave early because there was a small delay. As they walked, Harry noticed a little girl, maybe 4 years old, standing alone and crying. She must have gotten separated from her parents in the crowd. In her small hands, she gripped a dragon stuffie that moved and breathed fake fire. Without a word, Harry moved away from the group—ignoring Hermione and Ron's protests—and kneeled on one knee in front of the girl. "Are you okay? Are you lost?" The girl was so distraught, all she could do was nod. "What do your parents look like? Would you like to help me find them?" Again, she nodded without a word and held out her arms, obviously wanting him to pick her up. He obliged and put her on his, careful so she wouldn't fall off. "If you see them just point them out, okay?" She made a small sound in confirmation and Harry started walking around.

After a few moments, he heard someone behind him shout, "Destiny!" Harry turned around and saw a young couple rushing towards them, a calm Auror in their wake.

Harry looked up at the little girl on his shoulders and saw her reaching out towards him. Carefully he let her off of his shoulders and put her in the arms of her mother. All three of them were hugging and crying. The woman put the girl in the arms of her father and shook Harry's hand gratefully. "Thank you so much for finding her for us. I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to her. Thank you so much!"

Harry just smiled and rejoined the Weasleys. "You have a soft spot for little kids, don't you? And you're so good with them." Hermione said, smiling when he returned to the group. Again, he only smiled and they went on their way. He was just glad he could do something good. He listened to Ron as he enthused about who he thought would win the game. Excitement crackled in the air around them.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry laid quietly in bed at the Burrow. Everyone else was asleep, but Harry couldn't stop thinking about what had happened after the World Cup. He listened to the house creak as the wind blew. He heard the rain start to pour, which might have lulled him to sleep had he not had so many thoughts racing through his head.

Why had death eaters been at the World Cup? What could they want? Was this a sign that Voldemort was coming back? If that's the case, how would that be possible?

These thoughts and more ran through Harry's head endlessly until, finally, he fell asleep.

He found himself alone in the bedroom he and Ron shared when he finally woke up. The smell of bacon and eggs wafted up from the kitchen where Mrs Weasley had no doubt already prepared their breakfast. As he put on his glasses and made his way to the breakfast table, Harry remembered that they were supposed to get their Hogwarts letters today. He knew the Weasleys would want to get the shopping out of the way as much as they could that first day, so a day he planned on using to relax, would be used traipsing through Diagon Alley finding supplies for school.

Harry made his first stop to Gringotts and got only the money he needed. He didn't want to use too much of the money he got from his parents and he already spent a lot at the World Cup. So once he was out of the bank he made his next stop Madam Malkins'. He went through a crazy growth spurt over the summer and now his robes were several inches too short. There were a lot of people there and Harry waited patiently for his turn rather than try to push through the line like a majority of the parents with smaller children. When it was his turn he was taken into the back where he spotted Ron and Ginny getting their robes fitted.

The Weasleys never really shopped in one large group once the younger children were old enough that they could go in twos and still be fine. So Harry joined them and was told that Mrs Weasley was next door getting course books for the two. Mr Weasley was with Fred and George to make sure they didn't make any trouble or get anything they weren't supposed to. In other words, he made sure they didn't step one foot in Zonko's. Harry laughed at that, though he wasn't surprised and continued chatting with the two until they were all finished. They paid and left to join Mrs Weasley next door. She had been thoughtful enough to get Harry's books as well, and wouldn't have let him pay her back but he snuck the galleons into her change purse when she was fussing over Ginny.

After getting the rest of their supplies, the whole group joined at a cute little place for lunch before they returned to The Burrow. Somehow throughout their trip, Fred and George had snuck themselves into Zonko's and rushed their contraband into their room before their mother could see them. Harry just shook his head as the two took bags, covering up the logo, into their rooms. Hermione immediately dove into one of their school books, eager to get a leg up in the reading. This time, Harry decided he should probably get ahead in potions, so he followed suit.

~ ~ ~ ~

September 1st seemed to come faster than normal and before they knew it, they were all boarding the train. Together, the Golden trio and Ginny searched for an empty compartment. They thought they had found one, but upon opening the door, they found a young lady around 14 years old. She was wearing Hogwarts robes, but without a house crest. They quickly apologized before they closed the door again. It wasn't long before Neville and Luna waved them over from a compartment a couple of doors down the row. As they walked down towards their friends, Harry couldn't help but feel that the girl looked familiar. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something told him he knew her from somewhere, or maybe she looked like someone he knew. Now that there was little to do but look out a window and have small talk, Harry's mind wasn't busy enough to block out the thoughts on what happened at the World Cup and what he'd been dreaming lately.

It was a long train ride to the station in Hogsmeade, but when the skies started darkening Hermione announced she was going to put on her robes. They went in groups so there would always be someone in the compartment. They wouldn't put it past someone to steal their compartment in the last stretch of the journey. On Harry's way back to the compartment Malfoy stopped him.

"Out of the way, Malfoy." Harry tried to brush past the blond but he pressed an arm against the wall of the hallway.

"What? Scared, Potter?"

Harry almost laughed at the reference to their second year, "You wish." Again, he tried to brush past the boy—apparently had also experienced a considerable growth spurt over the summer as he was now significantly taller than Harry where they were nearly equal the year before. The Slytherin stopped him again.

"Did you know, Potter, that there's going to be a mandatory re-sorting for fourth years this year?" Harry suddenly flashed back to his first year sorting; his inner panic must have shown on his face because Malfoy continued, "What, Scarhead? Afraid you'll be sorted into Hufflepuff?" The goons Crabbe and laughed heartily behind him. Harry only rolled his eyes and shoved past them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl from the compartment earlier looking at the spectacle with minor interest and slightly more intrigue. Then as quick as she seemed to have appeared, she was in her compartment behind closed doors once more. Harry shook her from his mind, concerning himself more with the information Malfoy had given him. He knew it must have been true. His father is on the school board and Malfoy wouldn't say something that far-fetched had it just been a lie. He would have said something more believable.

The others must have seen something on his face because as soon as he walked in Ron asked, "What's wrong, mate?" Hermione looked up from what she was reading, which Harry was pretty sure was a book they were going to have next year.

"You won't believe what Malfoy just told me..."

~ ~ ~ ~

"That can't be true!"

"They can't do that!"

Hermione and Ron indignantly shouted at the same time. Neville, Luna, and Ginny just looked like they were in shock. Harry shrugged shoving his beat-up trainers into his suitcase and putting his school shoes on his feet. "It has to be true. It's too crazy for him to have made up. It's almost unbelievable. Not to mention, he would know if that was the case because his father is part of the School Board." Ron was turning almost as red as his hair and Hermione only closed her book and looked down unseeingly at the cover.

"If that's the case," Hermione broke the silence, "We might be split up. We're all so different than we used to be. If the hat is anything different than it was in our First Year, I'm sure it'll put me in Ravenclaw."

"With my luck, I'll be in Hufflepuff," Ron grumbled darkly.

"I'm sure Harry will still be in Gryffindor. He's braver than any of us." Neville intervened. Harry silently stared at the window. He wasn't so sure about that. He's never told anyone that the hat almost put him in Slytherin. If the hat wants to change his house, that's definitely where he'll go. He saw Hermione look at him with concern, but she turned back to the conversation. Her mind was too much of a mess at the moment to read.


	4. Chapter 4

It wasn't long before the train stopped at the station and they were finding themselves faced with the horseless carriages. They looked at each other, still thinking about the information they almost wish they had never found out. Harry was at the back of the group when they piled into a carriage, but where they had all been able to fit the year before, there was just enough room for five of them, but not all six. Not even someone as thin as Harry was. "We can find another carriage with you, Harry." Hermione offered, already beginning to stand.

Harry put up his hands to stop her, "No, you don't have to. I'll just find somewhere else to sit."

With that, their carriage pulled away and only one carriage remained. Looking into it, Harry noticed that it only held the mysterious girl from the train. "Do you mind if I sit with you?" Harry asked as politely as he could. She looked over at him from her seat and gave a polite smile and nod. "Thank you." He got in and as soon as the door was closed and he was settled, the carriage took off with a lurch.

Feeling the silence grow more and more awkward as they sat, Harry asked, "What's your name?"

She looked up as if surprised he was talking to her, but quickly recovered and answered with a smile, "I'm Lilith, but everyone calls me Lily. What is your name, if I may ask?"

Harry smiled back, not expecting her to answer, "I'm Harry. It's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine."

With introductions out of the way, the silence was considerably less awkward than it had been and they passed the silence to the castle with more or less a comfortable feeling.

Hermione and Ron were waiting for him when they finally reached the doors. He let himself out first them, like a gentleman, offered a helping hand to his obliging companion. She needed no help, but she was grateful for it nonetheless. Hermione gave him a suggestive look at this but he only rolled his eyes at her. The two nodded politely to each other and she left while Harry rejoined his best friends. Together they joined the other students in the Great Hall. When they had all sat down at the Gryffindor table, Harry noticed that the girl stood next to McGonagall while the first years were sorted. He'd never seen a transfer student be sorted, so he supposed they simply waited until the first years were over and through with.

After the last first year was sorted, McGonagall announced, "It was decided among the School Board and the professors of Hogwarts that the fourth years should participate in a re-sorting. It is a decision that, if it goes well this year, could very well carry on indefinitely. So, would all fourth years please line up in an orderly fashion in front of the sorting ?" With that, chaos broke out. There were shouts from all fourth years except Malfoy, his inner circle, and five specific Gryffindors. Despite this, no one was willing to go against anything McGonagall said, so slowly, but surely, they all stood to line up before the hat, led by The Golden Trio, Malfoy and his followers, and Neville.

They were called in reverse alphabetical order, so Ron was one of the first ones to be sorted. Of course, he got back into Gryffindor. There was no other place he could be.

It wasn't too long before a name that must have belonged to the Train Girl TM, Lilith, was called, "Snape, Lilith." McGonagall announced and the entire hall was silent. Not a whisper was heard throughout the entire hall as the young lady was sorted into Slytherin. She sat delicately at the end of the Slytherin table as her robes changed to proclaim her house. Harry couldn't help thinking that being in Slytherin wouldn't be so bad if she was there, even if she was related to Snape. Harry didn't listen as the names between S and P were called and sorted. The only thing he heard was a clear and strangely distinct, "Potter, Harry."

The hall didn't fall silent as it had during his first sorting. They were all so confident that he would be sorted in Gryffindor again. He saw Cedric Diggory shoot him an encouraging smile from the Hufflepuff table before the large hat covered his eyes and the familiar voice echoed in his mind.

"We meet again, Mr Potter."

Harry sighed in dread and thought, "Just get this over with please."

"Very well," The hat conceded and Harry swore he felt him nod from inside his head before he shouted, "Slytherin." Now the hall was silent as the crimson in his robes changed to emerald and the lion changed to a coiled serpent. Everyone was in shock as he made the long walk to the Slytherin table. From the other three houses, even from Ron, he received hatred, from Slytherin, he received distrusting looks He was careful to place himself at one end of the table, far from anyone else, as the sorting went on. McGonagall shook herself out of a trance and continued with the sorting, obviously shaken. Harry merely sat, looking at his shaking hands, afraid to look up at the only friends he'd ever had, afraid that he would see hatred instead of understanding in their eyes. Harry barely noticed that Malfoy was sorted back into Slytherin, Neville into Hufflepuff—sitting with Cedric Diggory—and Hermione into Ravenclaw. He was willing to risk a glance at Hermione, and all he saw in her eyes was concern and sympathy. He hadn't thought she would fault him for his change of house. She'd never been prejudiced with the house. He didn't dare look at Ron, though. He didn't want to see what would be there. It had been drilled too much into Ron's head that Slytherins were evil for him to still want to be friends with Harry.

As Dumbledore made his usual speech of nonsense, nobody could laugh. Everyone's minds were caught on Harry's sorting. Noticing that the students were distracted, Dumbledore made his speech and announcements short before allowing them to eat their dinner.

Harry couldn't eat. He pushed peas and chicken around on his plate as his heart raced and his stomach twisted in knots. As he sat, he noticed a presence at his side. It was Lilith, the girl from before. She flashed him a smile before saying, "Do you mind if I sit with you?" Harry only nodded in shock. He hadn't expected anyone from Slytherin to want to sit with him, much less a _Snape_. She set her plate on the table next to him and sat down, still very elegantly, and asked, "If you don't mind, can I ask you something?" Again, Harry only nodded, "You didn't seem surprised to be sorted into Slytherin, yet everyone else in the hall was and _is_. Why is that?"

Harry sighed. He figured he'd have to tell someone eventually. Why not the only person who's been nice to him since he'd resorted? "The Sorting Hat almost sorted me into Slytherin in my first year, but I'd been told by my first friend that the only people in Slytherin turned out evil. I was afraid of losing the only friend I'd ever had and I begged the hat to put me anywhere but Slytherin." He dropped his head into his hands, "If only I'd known there would have been a resorting. I would have just saved myself the trouble." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the concern in her face as she rubbed his back comfortingly with her left hand. She'd put down the fork in her right hand as she listened.

"You should eat something, Harry. It's not good for you. I know you probably have no appetite, but at least eat something. Please?"

Harry sighed and consented, grabbing a buttery roll. On any other day the smell would have made him ravenous, but today it just made him nauseous. "I wish everyone was as nice and understanding as you," Harry said out of the blue as he fought down a bite of the roll.

Her cheeks flushed slightly at his statement, "They just don't understand. Or they don't want to. I understand that there's nothing you can do about where you're sorted. It has to do both with what traits you exemplify and what traits you wish to exemplify. That's probably why the Sorting Hat was between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Because, though you are very brave, I have a feeling that something in your childhood meant you had to be more cunning and sneaky about things than brave." Harry looked at her in shock. No one has ever guessed his home life so completely. Everyone seemed to think his life at home was carefree and happy.

"You're too intuitive for your own good. You know that right?" She only laughed and Harry found that the knots in his stomach had unravelled enough that he could eat.


	5. Chapter 5

When the feast was over, Harry walked with Lilith, though now he called her Lily, with the Slytherin prefects and the other new Slytherins to the Slytherin Common Room and Dorms. They were told at the entrance that the password changed every week and to get it at the beginning of the week they had to be at breakfast bright and early. If not, they had to ask another Slytherin. "Don't worry about getting picked on here. You're Snakes now. And we look after our own. The password this week is 'Cunning'. Try not to forget it, but if you do and you're too shy to come to a fellow Slytherin, just find one of the prefects and we'll be happy to help you."

With that, they entered the Slytherin Common Room which was already filled with the prior Slytherins. The fire was roaring and the throng of people made the room warmer than Harry remembered from Second Year. Not that he would tell anyone. Harry followed one prefect to the boys' dorms while Lily followed another to the girls'. They showed where they would sleep and, unlike in Gryffindor, there were only about two or three students to a room. It made sense considering they were the only house with dorms in the dungeons. Each bedroom had a large fireplace that ran non-stop to keep out the cold. The inhabitants could adjust the intensity of the flame according to their wants. Harry was to room with Malfoy and a boy named Zabini.

The other new students went into the common room after they had been shown their rooms and they got settled in; Harry just sat on the bed his trunk had been put in front of. He looked in his trunk and all of his Gryffindor related things had turned Slytherin. His scarves, his ties, his robes, even his pair of gloves. He dug deeper into his trunk, under his clothes and books, and pulled out his photo album from Hagrid. He gently placed it on his bed and took out his pyjamas. By the time he had come out of the room's bathroom, Malfoy and Zabini were back and already dressed in their pyjamas. Harry avoided their gaze and, taking up the album laid in bed and pulled the curtains closed. He sat there looking at the pictures of his parents until he fell asleep.

~ ~ ~ ~

Harry made his slow way to breakfast on his own, constantly looking over his shoulder. People from all houses had been shooting glares at him all morning. He knew Lily was already at breakfast because she left him a note in the common room.

When he came into the Great Hall, he mustered up all of his remaining confidence into looking at Ron at the Gryffindor table. When he was met with the angriest, most loathing stare he'd seen yet, he quickly looked away, rushing to his seat next to Lily at the end of the table and pushed the plate away she put in front of him.

"Harry, please eat. Classes start today. I have a feeling you'll need your strength in Defense." Harry sighed in resignation. He can't say that he's surprised at Ron's reaction, but he wished he could say it didn't hurt. It is, after all, only three years of friendship gone with the Sorting. He grudgingly ate a slice of toast and a strip of bacon. It wasn't long until the mail came and Harry saw Hedwig among them. She had no letter or any other type of mail, but it was sort of a tradition of theirs that she came to visit him on the first day. Harry couldn't always come to the Weasleys, so her safety wasn't always certain. She landed gracefully on his arm and the sight of her immediately swept any negative thoughts from his mind. She nibbled affectionately on his ear while he checked her wings and under her feathers for any problems. She flapped her wings and bounced around the table as if to tell him that she was alright. He gently stroked her feathers and gave her a slice of bacon before she flew away to join the other owls in the Owlery.

"You seem very close to your owl," Lily observed.

"Yeah, she was my first friend and she was my first birthday present. The groundskeeper, Hagrid, took me to get my school supplies for my first year and bought her for me for my birthday." Harry smiled at the fond memory but was soon reminded of his current predicament when a prefect came with their schedules. Lily and Harry compared schedules and found that the only classes they had different were that she had Ancient Runes as an elective and Harry had chosen Arithmancy. He knew Hermione had that class and he was sure Ron had chosen Divination, so he should be okay on that front. But all three of them had chosen Care of Magical Creatures and he didn't want to make Hermione be a median between him and Ron. But it was okay because Lily had Care of Magical Creatures with him. So Ron could spend the time with Hermione and he would stay with his new friend. As Slytherins, all of their other classes were the same and Harry's mood dropped further when he found out they had Potions first. He was glad it was only a single class, but he was sure that his moving into Snape's house wouldn't change how the man treated him.

The time for the first class of the day arrived and Harry picked up his bag and walked with his stomach in his shoes to the only class in the dungeons. Lily gripped his arm comfortingly. "Everything's going to be okay, Harry. I promise. I'll be right there with you and I'll meet you outside the Arithmancy classroom, so just wait there for me, okay?" Harry nodded and they both took their seats on the Slytherin side of the Potions classroom. Harry got out his textbook. He'd read it through at the Weasleys' so anything Snape might ask him he should be able to answer. If he can't it's in a later textbook. Harry soon found that they had Potions with the Gryffindors. Dread filled Harry's stomach like the one and only Ronald Weasley came into the room with Seamus and Dean. He caught sight of Harry and the care-free look he sported with his fellow Gryffindors disappeared at the sight of Harry. Lily rubbed Harry's back as he quickly looked down towards his table. He didn't want to have to deal with both Ronald Weasley and Professor Severus Snape.

Soon all the students were in the classroom and Snape billowed in like usual from his office. "Take out your textbooks and turn to the first chapter." He looked over at Lily and saw Harry sitting next to her. He didn't let anything show on his face, so Harry couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Mr Potter, what are three ingredients in the Draught of Peace?"

This was in the textbook, so Harry knew this. He saw Ron snicker from his seat, "powdered moonstone, syrup of hellebore, and powdered porcupine quills, Sir." In his peripheral, Harry saw Ron's mouth drop open and he had to hold back a smirk. Since when had Harry thought it funny when he proved Ron wrong?

"Very good. Weasley, name one ingredient in Amortentia."

Ron blushed and ducked his head. But that wasn't a fair question. That wasn't in their textbooks until Sixth Year. "I don't know, Sir."

The Slytherin side of the classroom erupted in laughter, minus Lily and Harry. Now Ron's red face was red from anger instead of embarrassment. For some reason, his glare became fixated on Harry. He hoped they wouldn't meet in the hall alone. The class went on more or less without incident, but Harry could feel Ron's eyes on him the entire.


	6. Chapter 6

Harry tried his best to stick with Lily, but when he got out of Arithmancy with Hermione, who had assured him there were no ill feelings between them, he was faced with Ronald Weasley and a posse of Gryffindors. Lily was nowhere in sight and though there were several Slytherins nearby, he doubted they would help him. Hermione had long been gone, already on her way to the Library to study something she had been a little confused about in the next chapter of their Arithmancy textbook. So Harry was all alone. He let Ron and his friends try to intimidate him while his eyes searched the corridor for a way out of the situation.

"Well, Potter. Looks like we finally have you cornered. You can imagine where this will lead. Lion always beats Snake."

_So we're to surnames, now? Whatever._ Harry thought to himself as he desperately looked for a way out. In his peripheral, he saw the Slytherins looking on with increasing interest. At that moment, he found an opening between Ron and a blonde-haired Gryffindor that must have been at least two years ahead. Just when he thought he'd gotten through, he was grabbed by the back of his robes and shirt—effectively choking him—and was dragged back into what had become a circle of hostile Gryffindors. Harry fell to the ground and was flashed back to a time in primary school where Dudley had gotten as many older, bigger kids as he could and let them beat him to a pulp. He hadn't been able to escape then, either.

Ron was the one to lay the first blow. He reared his foot back and kicked Harry as hard as he could in his stomach. Harry felt the wind knocked out of him and wheezed painfully while the rest of the group began throwing in their own punches and kicks. In a moment it was over when the Slytherins that had been nearby interrupted. Harry was surprised to find that this included Malfoy and Zabini. He vaguely saw Lily running as fast as she could towards him. Her face was panicked. He noticed that the Slytherins were threatening The Gryffindors, "If you touch one of our own again," Malfoy hissed, "You won't have to worry about the consequences with the professors." Reluctantly, Ron—no, Weasley and the other Gryffindors left to go to lunch. Harry sighed, noticing his glasses were completely obliterated about a meter away. He didn't think even Hermione's Oculus Reparo would fix them now.

He was shocked when Zabini's olive-toned hand came in front of his eyes. "C'mon. You need to go to the Hospital Wing."

Harry accepted the hand, but said, "I'll be fine. I get worse from my cousin. They didn't even break anything." The other Slytherins looked at him in shock. How could _The Harry Potter_ be treated like that? And on what sounded like a regular basis?

But they wouldn't take no for an answer, "We take care of our own," a nameless Slytherin girl chimed in, "You're one of us now. You need to go to the Hospital Wing and we'll take you there. Besides, we won't miss any classes because it's lunch. Draco, could you go inform Professor Snape what happened. I'm sure he'll want to have a word with McGonagall about her Lions." The blond nodded and left towards the dungeons.

Lily finally caught up and began a full inspection of Harry, "Harry are you alright? What happened? Are you hurt? Where are you hurt?"

He winced and pulled her hands off of where they had been on his sides, "I'm fine, Lily. Relax."

She looked at him with honest concern, "We're going to the Hospital Wing." There was no way he could say no to all of them. So he went without any more fuss.

~ ~ ~ ~

When he and Lily came to dinner, Ron and the other Gryffindors glared at them and the Slytherins had made a space for them to sit. Harry could almost have cried. He had felt like an outcast after being accepted for the first time three years ago. He had thought he would never find a home at Hogwarts again. Now, he only had to worry about the very violent and risky Gryffindors. He looked up at the Head Table and saw that Professor Snape looked rather angry and McGonagall looked rather uncomfortable. Dumbledore was talking quietly with the Divination professor, Trelawney he thought her name was. Everyone but the Gryffindor girls said she was a fraud. Obviously, Dumbledore didn't think so or he wouldn't have hired her.

The past year, Harry had grown a feeling of mistrust when it came to the Headmaster. Remus had told him that it had been Dumbledore to put Harry in with the Dursleys. He tried to understand the man's excuse of blood wards and protection from his mother, but he couldn't see why that was safer than putting him in a wizarding family with a fidelius charm. They just had to be stricter about it. But thinking that wouldn't change anything, and neither would confronting the man about it. Nothing would change and he was just glad that he didn't have back during the Winter Holidays. Lily had already told him that she would be staying for winter and that a majority of the Slytherins were. Harry felt a little less lonely and a lot safer after she said that. There was also the fact that the other two schools would be at Hogwarts by then for the Tri-Wizard Tournament. They would come at the end of September, be there at the Halloween feast and would stay until the end of the year. Harry heard from Malfoy that the Bulgarian seeker from the World Cup, Viktor Krum, was coming as a student at Durmstrang and would be coming to sign up for the tournament, no doubt.

Harry was sure Ron would get super excited when he saw him. That thought made him scowl. Weasley had made it more than clear that he wanted nothing more of him than a punching bag. Now that he wasn't as worried about his own safety, he ate well at dinner. The professors noticed the change and were glad for it. They knew Slytherins protected their own and if they had accepted Harry Potter into their ranks, well, all the better for everyone.

Harry felt a lot of eyes on him at dinner but less were hostile than the night of the Feast. Tonight, Harry spent time with his housemates in the Common Room. They laughed and got to know each other and had a good time. Harry told the story of how he was almost a Slytherin, much to the shock—and slight indignation—of those around him. Lily watched on happily, glad he had made friends. There was so much Harry had to be grateful for. If they had chosen to, Slytherin might have killed him. But against all odds they accepted him. He was given a place he truly felt he belonged. He wasn't as brave as people thought. Sure, he could be reckless, but that doesn't equate to bravery. In fact, most of the time he's more afraid than anyone might think. But here in the dungeons he found sanctuary, he found family, he found a home.


	7. Chapter 7

The days passed more quickly now that he wasn't afraid for his life all the time. He always had someone with him that kept Weasley and his goons from getting at Harry. He knew it couldn't last forever, but at least he had some time. But now, everyone had more on their minds. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were coming at dinner that evening. The school was full of excitement and the professors could hardly get any teaching in. Everyone besides Professor Snape had given up after their first class because of the rowdiness of the students. The Potion Master's class was the only class no one dared to act up in. That class was quite the same as it always was. Except, perhaps, that it was getting colder—if that was even possible—because of the declining fall temperatures.

Well, no one was willing, but one. Mr Ronald Weasley of Gryffindor didn't seem to care that he was in the classroom of the man who had a reputation for being prejudiced against Gryffindors. But he _was _always the act-before-you-think type. For some reason, Harry and Lily had ended up on the Slytherin side of the border between the houses. Weasley had chosen the seat directly next to theirs and Harry already knew something was up. It wasn't 10 minutes into making the potion for the day that he did something. He tossed several extra belladonna leaves in Harry and Lily's potion. Harry knew something bad was going to happen, so he performed his strongest shield charm and covered the entire, unsuspecting, Slytherin side of the class. Not a second later, the cauldron exploded. The force was so powerful that Harry was knocked back and hit his head on the table behind him; he was knocked unconscious. Weasley must have thrown in more leaves than he thought because everyone but the Slytherins and Snape—who was used to putting up a last moment shield charm—was unconscious and covered in terrible burns. Weasley with the worst.

The Slytherins looked at Harry first—the spell had come undone when he'd been knocked out—and looked up at the frightening sight of a livid Severus Snape. He quickly sent a Patronus to Madam Pomfrey and asked a Slytherin or two to help carry Harry into his office. The Gryffindors needed Poppy's attention. Harry would be fine with a few potions. When the Gryffindors were all safely in the hospital wing and Harry was in his office, he dismissed his snakes for the rest of the class and with a wand wave cleaned up the mess the youngest Weasley boy had made of his classroom. He was fortunate that Harry's shield charm was strong enough that it protected every one of his Snakes. He almost didn't want to know why a fourth year would have such a strong shield charm, but that could be addressed another time. Right now, Harry needed attention.

From his potions stores, he collected: an anti-concussion potion, a Skele-grow potion, and some basic healing potions, plus any extra stuff he may need. Lily opted to stay and look out for her friend and he didn't prevent her. He didn't want a freshly-healed Harry Potter at the mercy of the students of Hogwarts. He worked for half an hour before he risked a Rennervate.

When the boy woke up, he bolted into a sitting position and looked around himself with wide eyes. When he calmed down a bit, he realized he was still in the dungeons and that Lily and Professor Snape were the only ones in the room. "What happened?" He asked. Everything seemed foggy.

Lily spoke up and told him everything that had happened. She had a sort of serves-him-right tone when she recounted how badly Ronald Weasley had been hurt because of the little stunt he pulled.

Harry only sighed, "I guess three years of friendship mean nothing to him. But never mind all that. What about the other Slytherins? Are they alright? I had hoped the charm would be strong enough but I wasn't sure."

"They're all fine, back in the common room, and equally worried about you and ready to kill Ronald Weasley for putting not only your life in line, as well as everyone else in the classroom. When you're ready you can both go back, but there's something I want to ask before you go." Harry had been about to stand up from the couch in front of Snape's fireplace.

"Yes, Sir?"

"Why are you able to cast such a strong shield charm? I've seen grown adults who can't cast a shield charm as strong as that one."

Harry shrugged, avoiding the man's eyes, "Practice, I guess." Severus sighed, fearing as much.

"Very well, you may go to your common room. Just be on time for your next class. Send Lily or Mr Malfoy to me if anything happens. And trust me I will have a word with both Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster about Mr Weasley's disgusting actions." Harry nodded and he and his friend made their way to the Slytherin Common Room.

When they reached the room, every Slytherin from their year was in the common room. They rushed over when they came in and bombarded Harry with questions. Lily yelled above the crowd, "Hold on, everyone! Give the boy some space!" Everyone backed up and returned to where they were sitting, standing, or pacing. Harry sat down in the remaining armchair by the fire. Lily told the story for him and assured everyone he was alright while he caught his breath. Even Malfoy was willing to fight Weasley on Harry's behalf and Harry was surprised the blond could throw away three years of animosity. But they were older. Perhaps he had decided their fighting was petty and childish and not worth the effort. Harry had to agree and found himself wishing he had made friends with Draco from the beginning. But nothing about that could be changed now. While the others talked and Harry thought, he found himself slipping into a dream.

_He was back in the cupboard under the stairs. It must be a memory. As he lay in the darkness he was startled by the sound of heavy feet coming down the stairs above him. A deep-ingrained sense of dread filled him and he waited for who could only be his uncle to come to the cupboard door. He stood in front of it for what seemed like forever. Then, the lock clicked open, the doorknob clicked and started to turn. He saw the silhouette of the huge man surrounded by moonlight. One fat hand reached for him and—_

—he woke up with a start.


	8. Chapter 8

Harry walked next to Lily, both of them surrounded by Slytherins, to the Great Hall for dinner and to welcome the other two schools. Harry looked over to the Gryffindor table and was surprised to find that every Gryffindor except Weasley was there. Madam Pomfrey must have healed them up pretty quickly. It must have been easy. A Slytherin near him saw his gaze and said, "I heard that they had to send Weasley to St. Mungo's. The others were okay, but he got hit the hardest because he was the closest." Harry looked away from the Gryffindor table, though none of them seemed to look at him with any hostility. They all just seemed guilty. They wouldn't look at him. Especially the ones from the group the first day. He paid them no mind and took his usual seat at Slytherin.

It wasn't long before Dumbledore announced that the first school had arrived. A lot of the students ran to the doors to watch as the Beauxbatons carriage soared through the air, but Harry didn't feel like being shoved around, so he stayed where he was. The Beauxbatons students decided to sit at the Ravenclaw table with a few stragglers choosing to sit at other house tables. It wasn't long before someone spotted the Durmstrang ship rising from the lake and the tough-looking Bulgarians came in and sat, for the most part, at the Slytherin table. Viktor Krum was one in particular who chose to sit at the Ravenclaw table next to one Hermione Granger in particular. Harry smirked but wasn't surprised. Hermione was pretty and smart. If she hadn't been one of his best friends, he might have liked her too.

When the Beauxbatons students came in, a handsome young man came and sat on Lily's other side. Harry didn't know why, but he felt his blood boil when he started talking to her. He stopped himself, shaking off the feeling and wondering what was wrong with him. Maybe he was sick? He turned his attention back to the Headmaster who was welcoming the foreign students and explaining the Tri-wizard Tournament to everyone. When he announced the age limit of 17, a majority of Hogwarts students, other than pretty much all of the Slytherins, shouted in indignation. This was mainly from the Gryffindor table, but some several Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs shared their sentiments. Some of the loudest of these shouts came from the Weasley twins and Ronald Weasley. His sister seemed to have more sense and simply watched her brothers with half-amusement half-exasperation.

Dumbledore stayed silent, and eventually, the Hall was quiet once more. Filch uncovered a sheet from a pedestal that had been in the Hall all evening and everyone had been wondering about. Underneath the sheet sat a large stone goblet spitting bright blue flames. "This," Dumbledore gestured to the goblet, "is the Goblet of Fire. Put your name and the name of your school on a piece of parchment and toss it in. You will be considered for one of the three Tri-wizard Champions. But keep in mind, there will be an age ward around the goblet which will not allow anyone below seventeen to enter their names in the goblet. Anyone who gets an older student to put their name in for them, or uses any other method to add their name to the roster will be severely punished." He looked pointedly at the Weasley twins, who were a few months under seventeen, "This may be a game, but it is very serious and very dangerous. Anyone not taking the tournament seriously will either not be chosen, or will sincerely regret being chosen." No one dared speak as he covered everyone with a daring glare, not a twinkle of amusement in his eyes, "Now!" He began again; the twinkle was back, "With all the seriousness out of the way, it's time to eat. We have asked the house elves to prepare food from all three countries and cultures." He clapped his hands, saying, "Bon appetite!" and the food appeared on the tables.

Harry spent the evening talking with Lily and the other Slytherins and pointedly ignored the French student. Not that he noticed, the boy was too preoccupied with watching Lily. Harry would wonder that night why he thought of that with such scorn.

~ ~ ~ ~

Life at Hogwarts was strange with more students aimlessly roaming the halls. The foreign students were taught in their schools' living arrangements—the Beauxbatons' carriages, and Durmstrang's ship. They still wandered the halls of Hogwarts and ate meals in the Great Hall. Harry was almost ashamed when he felt a sense of relief at the Beauxbatons boy—whose name he has since learned is Edgar—when he introduced his boyfriend to the table. As oblivious as ever, Harry still hadn't a clue why he felt this way, but paid it no mind. So the days passed like that. Ron was out of the St. Mungo's—those healers could do wonders—but hadn't so much as made eye contact with Harry. His face was slightly scarred from burns, but not dramatically, just a little bit.

When he came into the Great Hall for breakfast the day he was back, Lily scoffed in indignation, "How could they let him back here? He could have killed everyone in that room. He _almost_ killed himself. All to get at you. Why in _bloody hell_ would they let him back here?" Harry only shrugged and asked her to let it go. If Weasley wasn't going to bother him, he wouldn't bother Weasley.

At last, the day of the choosing came. It was evening after dinner and dessert and the tables were cleared, but Dumbledore had asked them to stay behind for a while. The Goblet had stayed in the middle of the Great Hall since the schools had come. Harry was suddenly reminded of when Fred and George had tried to by-pass the age wards. The image of the two with long, grey beards still made Harry laugh.

The Hall was silent in anticipation as Dumbledore stood from his seat and moved to stand beside the Goblet. He began a speech and had only been talking a few moments when the blue flames rose high and spit out a small slip of parchment. Dumbledore stopped talking, grabbing the parchment from the air and announcing the champion, "Our Champion from Durmstrang is... Viktor Krum!" Hogwarts cheered and Krum's friends and schoolmates clapped him cheerfully on the back. He walked confidently to Dumbledore who pointed him to the room the Champions would wait in until all three Champions had been chosen. Once he left, the Goblet spits out another piece. "Our next Champion, from Beauxbatons is... Fleur Delacour!" The young French men and women both clapped and cried, but all remarks were congratulatory. She followed Viktor into the designated room. There was only one remaining Champion. Breaths were bated as the Goblet spit one last piece of parchment. It seemed to take minutes to float within reaching-distance of Dumbledore's hand. Everyone was wondering. What house would their Champion be in? Who did the Goblet deem worthy to be the final Tri-Wizard Champion?

Finally, Dumbledore caught the piece. "The final Tri-Wizard Champion, Hogwarts very own: Cedric Diggory!" The Hufflepuff looked up in delighted surprise. Everyone cheered for their surprise of a Champion. Nearly everyone thought it would certainly be a Gryffindor. But if Cedric won, it would give a name for Hufflepuff house as more than just a bunch of happy-go-lucky ninnies. Cedric entered the same room as the other two and Dumbledore began his final statement; everyone was pretty much ready to go to bed. They were full of food and their excitement and adrenaline from the choosing had worn off after the final announcement.

A gasp arose among the students. The Goblet burst into tall, bright flames again and spit out a fourth piece of parchment. Harry felt dread rise from his stomach and choke his throat. Who else could that be for? There isn't supposed to be a fourth Champion in the _Tri_-Wizard Tournament. He'd hoped that this year at least, he wouldn't have to put up with any drama or the like. But perhaps those chances were shot when he was re-sorted into Slytherin. He watched fearfully as the parchment floated down... down... down... down. Into Dumbledore's outstretched hand. A name Harry had been dreading fell from the Headmaster's lips in a whisper and he felt all the blood rush from his face, "... Harry... Potter?" 


	9. Chapter 9

A name Harry had been dreading fell from the Headmaster's lips in a whisper and he felt all the blood rush from his face, "... Harry... Potter?"

A stiffening silence rung through the Hall as every face turned to him. His gripped the sleeves of his jumper. He tried to duck down, but another Slytherin pushed him forward and out of his seat. Lily grabbed his arm, "Go, Harry. I'll find you later. Just go now. There's no way that they'll make you compete." She gently urged him forward and he stumbled towards Dumbledore. He saw McGonagall looking at him with pity—probably seeing the utter terror on his face—and Snape looking at him with slight confusion in his eyes, though his face was more or less emotionless. Harry headed into the room with shaking legs. He felt like his heart was beating out of his chest and every step felt like he was dragging his feet through quicksand.

As soon as he was in the room with the door closed behind him, the original three Champions turned to look at him. Cedric was the first to speak, "Harry? What are you-"At that moment, Harry fell to the ground, shaking and clutching his knees. He was breathing heavily and Cedric quickly noticed that he had begun hyperventilating. The older boy ran to his side and wrapped his arms around the 14-year-old. "Harry. Harry, I need you to calm down. Breath, Harry, Breath." It wasn't helping and Harry was getting dizzy, his vision was going black. "One of you!" Cedric called to the other two Champions, "Go and get Professor Snape. Tell him I need a Calming Drought as soon as possible. Go!" Krum decided to run out and get the Potions' professor. He came in very quickly. Luckily enough, he'd thought to have some vials of Calming Drought on him. He figured there might be some distressed students during the choosing. He never thought he would use one for this.

The door had been left open and the students closest to the door—in other words, mainly the Gryffindor table—could see what was happening.

Professor Snape quickly administered the Calming Drought as Cedric watched in worry. When Harry came back to himself for a moment, he simply muttered—and if the potions master and Cedric hadn't been so close, they would have missed it—"Why do things always happen to _me_?" And he passed out. Snape had Madam Pomfrey take Harry through the floo in the room to the Hospital Wing.

When Harry woke up again, he was in the Hospital Wing and Lily was next to him wearing her uniform and sitting in a wooden chair. "I'm glad you're awake." She said calmly, though her eyes were worried. He sat up, wondering why he was in the infirmary. The memories came back to him faster than a golden snitch can fly. He was suddenly dizzy again and Lily made him lay back down. At that moment, Madam Pomfrey and Professor Snape came into the room talking quietly to themselves.

When the man looked up and saw them, he said, "Go on to class Lilith. I need to talk to Mr Potter." She nodded, squeezed Harry's hand gently, took up her bag, and left. The professor sat in the seat just vacated by the girl and spoke, "Mr Potter, did you put your name in the Goblet?" his voice was calm, and Harry was surprised to find no venom in his tone. He shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. "Did you have another student put it in for you?" Again, Harry shook his head as solemnly as he could. "Do you know why someone would enter you in the tournament?"

Harry scoffed, "With all due respect, Sir. People have been trying to kill me all my life. I expect that would be the motive of whoever decided to enter me." Snape only nodded understandingly, to Harry's surprise.

He asked, "Can't they take me out? I'm under seventeen, that's against the rules, isn't it, sir?"

Severus sighed, hunching over like something was weighing on his shoulders, "There's nothing anyone can do. You must participate or be stripped of your magic." Harry fell back against his pillows and Snape leaned back, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his fingers, "Your mother and I were friends once. Then I made a horrible mistake and we didn't talk anymore. Then, to my surprise, she offered to renew our friendship—only about two months or so before you were born. She allowed her husband and his three friends— as well as I— to see you after you were born. That evening, she asked me to swear on our friendship that I would take care of you. I could see in her eyes that she could feel a storm coming. Besides that fact, I swore to protect you. I have failed so miserably on that part. I was still so blinded by my dislike of your father in his Hogwarts age, that I kept forgetting your father as a husband and a dad. I forgot your mother in you and I didn't even give you a chance to prove otherwise." He took a deep breath, "I suppose what I'm trying to say is... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for leaving you hanging when you needed someone the most. I'm sorry for making incorrect, and groundless, assumptions about you, and I'm sorry that I can't protect you from this Tournament."

"You don't have to apologize. I understand that people do things the way they do because of something other people probably don't know about. Thank you for giving me more information about my mom and dad, but I understand that times get tough and sometimes people act against their better judgment. You can apologize if you want, and I'll accept it, but all I needed was an honest explanation because simple apologies do nothing for me. But answers help paint the world around me, they help create the bigger picture."

They sat there a short while before Professor Snape decided to give Harry the information Fleur, Cedric, and Krum had gotten the night before. Pomfrey told him when he's eaten lunch, he can return to classes and meals and to contact her if anything happens.

~ ~ ~ ~

When Harry went to dinner with Lily and the other Slytherins and got more stares than usual. He wouldn't look up. Why did he have to be chosen? Why did it have to be him?

When he sat down among his friends, Cedric and Hermione came to him. Hermione was the one to speak, "Can we sit here with you, Harry?" He looked around at the other Slytherins and, seeing that no one seemed to have any true feelings against it, so he nodded with a small smile.

He sat with an old friend and new friends and enjoyed his meal. He was a little embarrassed at his breakdown, but he tried his best not to think about it. And no one else seemed to want to bring it up either.

"So what are you two going to do about the first task?"


	10. Chapter 10

The morning of the first task, Harry woke up with dread. He didn't want to get out of bed. He didn't want to face the school. And he _definitely_ didn't want to face a dragon. He walked to breakfast beside his friends with lead in his shoes and sat down like the entire solar system was on his shoulders. He couldn't eat. His stomach was in knots and he didn't think the lump in his throat would let anything down anyway. Hermione came over from the Ravenclaw table to see him, "Harry, you need to eat. You need all the energy you can get."

Harry sighed, still pushing scrambled eggs around his plate, "I'm not sure I can."

"At least eat a piece of toast, please?" Harry agreed because he knew she wouldn't stop asking until he did. He ate the piece of toast but refused any more. He spent the rest of breakfast freaking out both internally and externally. Classes for the day were cancelled for everyone, so he didn't even have that to distract him. He wasn't sure his plan would work. And what if it didn't? What would he do then? He hadn't bothered to have a backup plan, so if Plan A didn't work, there was no Plan B.

It seemed no time and a long time when it was announced that it was time for the first task. The Champions were ushered into a tent and the rest of the students took their seats in the stands. The Hogwarts parts of the crowd had a mixture of yellow and green; the supporters were split. Hermione, Lily, Luna, and a few other students represented both houses. Harry's attention was drawn from the crowd and the rocky terrain of the arena when Mr Crouch announced it was time for them to choose what they would face.

In his hands, he held a leather bag that spouted smoke when he opened it. They were each prompted to reach into the bag at their turn. Harry was the last to choose. Having already seen the dragons and knowing what the other champions had chosen, he knew which he would get. The Hungarian Horntail. The meanest among the group. Even Hagrid said so and he doesn't see dangerous creatures as fearfully as other people. If Hagrid says it's trouble, it must be a death wish. Harry was last and listened as the other champions canons went off and they fought their dragon to get whatever it is they had to get.

Harry's canon when off and he jumped. He prayed to Merlin, Fate, and whatever higher powers out there that he would be okay. That his plan would work. He took a deep breath and stepped into the arena. A mix of cheers and boos overwhelmed his ears. He heard the dragon coming near him. He had to time this right if he wanted it to work. So he waited. He waited for what seemed like forever. And at last, rose his hand into the air, and spoke, "_Accio _Firebolt!" He dove out of the way because, at his cry, the dragon suddenly blew fire at him. He hid behind a rock, watching the sky impatiently. At last, he saw a speck coming near him, whizzing through the air like an aeroplane. He timed himself, got ready, and when the broom was close enough, jumped from his hiding spot and onto the Firebolt.

He felt the heat of the flame on his back and could smell scorched straw. He soared out of reach of the dragon, but close enough that she wouldn't forget he was there. He had quickly found that their objective was the golden egg among the dragon's real eggs. They had to take the false egg from the nest without being burned alive or killed in any other way by the dragon. The dragon stretched her neck, trying to grab Harry between her teeth, but not wanting to leave her nest. Harry pulled away, ever so slowly, and she began flapping her great, leathery wings, following him as close as she could without getting too far from the nest. Eventually, she figured he was far enough away that he wouldn't try to get to the nest, and she took off after him as far as she could with the chain around her neck. That is until it snapped and she barreled through the air towards her target. Harry quickly ducked away, but not quick enough, because she caught his arm with the barbed end of her tail. Ignoring the pain shooting through his fingers and up through his shoulder, he flew her away from the students and faculty in the stands. They flew over the forbidden forest, past the clearing where Harry had first seen her. He swung around before she had a chance to process what was happening and flew as quickly as he could back to the arena. Before long she was hot on his heels, but he wasn't willing to give up the opportunity he had been given. He pressed his chest against the wood of his broom, trying to get as much speed as he could. The dragon started closing in. The ground started closing in. He got closer and closer to the gold of the egg. If it had been too much smaller, it could have been a snitch. He urged his broom faster. At last, he had reached the egg. He snatched it and, just before he would have crashed into the ground, he pulled up vertical. As soon as he had the golden egg under his arm, the dragon handlers rushed in and brought the dragon, with some difficulty, back to her cage.

Harry flew straight into the Infirmary tent and dropping his broom on the way, fell into a cot. He carefully peeled off his Champion uniform. He winced as the torn cloth stuck to the wound. Madam Pomfrey came over as quickly as she could. Cedric came over to his bed. His hair was still smoldering slightly, but he seemed to not have sustained any injuries. Pomfrey quickly shooed him away, "Mr Diggory, when I am finished you may visit your friend, but not before. Now, go and let me concentrate." So he left but watched the best he could from his bed.

Madam Pomfrey let him stand outside the tent while she continued to work on his shoulder and chest as they called out the scores. In last was Miss Delacour, in the next place came Cedric, and Harry and Krum tied for first. As soon as they were finished, Madam Pomfrey whisked Harry off to the Hospital wing to finish healing his wound.

Harry was back by dinner, but his shoulder and chest still hurt. Madam Pomfrey said that it was likely to scar. He had a bad reaction to the Hungarian Horntail scales—which she said happens sometimes—and it would take longer for the cut to heal than it might have for someone else.

When he arrived in the Great Hall, a cheer erupted and Cedric, Hermione and Lily all rushed to his side. Hermione threw herself into his arms, holding onto him for dear life, but quickly released him when he cried out in pain. "Oh, Harry! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just a bad reaction to the Horntail scales. I'll be fine. It'll just take a little longer to heal."

"I was worried sick, Harry. And when the dragon got loose—Oh, I was sure something horrible would happen."

"I'm _fine_, Hermione. _Honestly._ Now, we should sit down before we make even more of a scene." They all turned and found the entire Hall staring at them. Hermione's face flushed a bit, but she said nothing more and they all sat at the Slytherin table. To Harry's surprise, he saw a couple of Gryffindors come their way. It was Fred and George Weasley.

"Hey, Gred. Hey, Forge. How's Gryffindor life since I left?"

"Nothing without—"

"—you, mate."

"And without Hermione—"

"—pranking isn't fun anymore."

"D'you remember, Gred, how she used to scold us?"

"Good times. Good times." They both stood there, arms crossed or hands on their hips and shaking their heads.

"Anyway, mind if—"

"—we join you?"

Harry laughed at their antics. They always managed to make him laugh somehow, "Sure, not a problem at all."

On the other side of the table facing Harry, a couple of Slytherins made room for the notorious twins. He sat with his friends, laughing and enjoying the time he had, glad he had survived the first task, and unwilling to think about what he may face in the next one.


	11. Chapter 11

The next thing on the Tri-Wizard agenda was the Yule ball. Where Harry would have to go and dance. Something he had no idea how to do. What was he supposed to wear? Who was he supposed to take? He thought about going with Hermione as friends, but she said she already had a date—and Harry had an inkling of who it was—and then he thought about asking Lily, but for some reason, every time he tried or thought about it his stomach turned in knots and he could get the words out. He didn't know why. One Hogsmeade weekend, the two went together to go Christmas shopping and as they traipsed through the snow, he worked up what was left of his Gryffindor courage and asked.

"I was wondering, Lily, if you could go to the Yule Ball with me as friends. The champions have to have a partner and there aren't very many people I can ask."

With a playful smirk, she replied, "You make me sound like a last resort." Harry's already cold-flushed face flushed even more as he adamantly denied this. Lily laughed out loud, "I'm only joking Harry, sure I'll go with you. But I must ask. Why didn't you ask Hermione? She is your oldest friend, after all"

"Well, I did, but she's already going with someone. She wouldn't tell me who, but I think we can both assume who it is." She nodded and laughed. And they continued on their way. Harry was glad he was able to get a date fairly quickly. He didn't want to have to rush to get one at the end.

~ ~ ~ ~

The night before the Yule Ball was spent pacing. At least it was on Harry Potter's part. He was so nervous and he didn't know why. He was just going with his friend. He was going to dance with some friends and that would be it. So why was he so nervous? Probably because he would be dancing. Lily had taught him how to dance because, in her words, "I don't want to constantly have my toes trod on while I'm trying to dance." So every other night, groups of Slytherins would put on a record player and practice dancing. Purebloods with private education in dancing at a ball taught those who did not. It was a nice little system. So much so that Professor Snape never had to teach their house to dance as McGonagall did.

Yet, Harry was still nervous. But there was always nerves with things like this. Having everyone's attention on him, probably judging him. It didn't matter though, he would have to do it anyway.

Harry waited in the Common Room for Lily to come down. He was looking down, fidgeting with his dress robes. Partially because he was nervous, partially because Mrs Weasley got them for him, and he still wasn't sure how she felt about him being in Slytherin now. Especially with the way Ron had been acting. He wasn't as bad as he was at the beginning of the year—he just ignored him now—but it was clear that he still didn't like that he was a Slytherin.

Harry was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a soft, "Harry?" From the direction of the girls' dorms. He looked up and was awed into silence. There Lily stood. She wore a dress with a black-to-emerald green, flowing dress. It was lined with silver and fit her perfectly. Her ebony hair fell down her back and shoulders in glistening waves. She had one side pinned back with a silver snake-shaped hairpin. She walked towards him so elegantly.

"How do I look?" She asked.

Harry stuttered, "I-You. You look... amazing. You look amazing. Wow." She blushed—Harry didn't think he'd ever seen her truly blush. He cleared his throat, "Shall we go m'lady?" He cringed internally, but she only chuckled and took his offered elbow.

"We shall."

And so they left the Common Room behind them. Everyone else would be coming later, but the Champions and their dates had to be there early. Then they had to wait until a majority of the people were there before parading themselves around the Hall. Harry adjusted his cuffs and collar as they waited outside the doors of the Great Hall and the voices of students became more and more prominent.

"Hey," Lily gently laid a hand on his elbow and he looked up at her, "It'll be alright. I promise. Just take a deep breath." Harry nodded, took a deep, deep breath, and lined up with Lily and the other Champions. He noticed that Cedric was taking Cho Chang, a Ravenclaw his age, Miss Delacour was with another Ravenclaw, and Krum was—as he had thought—with Hermione. Hermione came over before they had to line up and gushed over Lily's look.

All too soon, the giant doors opened and they began filing out from Last Place to First Place. Instead of having both Harry and Viktor walkout at once, Viktor decided he would come in behind Harry. As soon as Fleur and her date entered the Hall, cheering could be heard and Harry's heart began to race once more. Lily gave his arm a quick, comforting squeeze. When Cedric and Cho walked out there was a gasp and a louder cheer. It must have been for them as a couple. Cho was gorgeous on her own, and Cedric was charmingly handsome on _his_ own as well. But together, they were... heavenly. Then it was Harry and Lily's turn. They stepped out into the unknown. There was a path shaped by the students leading to the dance floor.

Everyone was silent as they stepped out. Then, abruptly, a deafening cheer rose and crashed through the crowd. Harry was starting to feel a little dizzy and began to feel like he just wanted to go back to the Common Room. At last, they made it to the dance floor; Lily rubbed his arm comfortingly and they got into the dance position. Harry took a deep breath, and the music started. They danced twice when Lily said her feet hurt—she had worn rather uncomfortable heels—and she suggested that he dance with some of their other friends. So he led her to their seats at the Champions' table, got her a drink, and asked Hermione to dance. She and Viktor laughed together as he left to get them both some punch. Harry took the next dance with Hermione, an upbeat song—in light of Rita Skeeter's most recent accusations—is probably for the best. After that, Hermione rejoined Viktor at their seats and Fred and George insisted on each of them dancing with him. They laughed and danced like no one was watching. After Fred and George, Cedric and Cho decided to dance with him, then Lily rejoined him and they danced one last dance before they both decided they were done for the night.

The dancing was good for Harry. It helped him keep his mind off of the Tournament and such. He grabbed Lily's winter cloak and helped her put it on then put his own on. She placed her hand on his elbow and they walked out onto the grounds. The snow was everywhere and a full moon made the terrain sparkle. They sat together on a bench and just talked until they were too cold and decided to return to their Common Room to warm up and get ready for bed. They could both agree that it was a wonderful, fun night.


	12. Chapter 12

Christmas was the morning after the Yule Ball, but Harry wasn't looking forward to it. It would show him exactly who had a problem with him being in Slytherin. But when Lily rushed into his dorm and started to bounce on his bed, "Get up, Harry! Up! Up! Up! It's Christmas! It's time for presents!" Harry sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and she got off his bed and ran to her room. He looked at the foot of his bed, not expecting to find much, but found more than the year before. Lily came running in, levitating her own gift behind her. Both of his roommates were with their group of friends, so he didn't have to worry about bothering them. They began opening their presents together. Lily got a book about potions ingredients and a beautiful snake necklace from her father.

Harry dug through, looking for—and having little hope of finding—one particular present. He stopped when he saw the lumpy little parcel he had become so used to receiving. His eyes welled up with tears as he gingerly unwrapped the wrapper to uncover a Slytherin Green jumper with a silver 'H' on the front. Underneath the jumper was a hearty box of chocolate frogs and a letter. The letter said:

_Dear Harry,_

_Don't you worry about being re-sorted into Slytherin. Arthur and I don't mind at all, dear. We hope you find new friends in your new house as well as keeping in touch with the old one. You are always welcome in our home whenever need be. And, if you would like, we would be willing to represent your family in the coming tasks. It's terrible what has happened to you with this Tournament, but we promise to support you the best way we can. If Ron causes any more trouble or any of the other Weasley children cause any trouble, do not hesitate to owl us immediately. And, again, remember, you always have a home at the Burrow._

_With Love,_

_Mr and Mrs Weasley_

Harry cried and clutched the home-made sweater to his chest. He had hoped they would be understanding, but they all seemed to be so against Slytherin that he wasn't sure. He wouldn't have to stay at the Dursleys' all summer. He got to go back to the Burrow. He was so happy, he almost forgot about Lily and his other presents.

"What's wrong, Harry? What is it?" She asked concernedly.

"It's nothing." He said in a watery voice, wiping his face with a grin to rival a Hufflepuff's. "I'm just happy. Let's keep opening presents."

From Hagrid, he got a tin of rock cakes, which he gingerly pulled away from Lily's hands, vowing to put them out of sight—and therefore out of mind. From Hermione, he, of course, got some books. One about defence spells—very practical—one about the history and care of brooms—again, practical—and the last was called _"The Lesser Known of Slytherin Histories"_—still very practical. He put them aside and found the Dursleys' sparse gift. Inside was a single, used pencil and one pound note. He sighed and tossed the "gifts" to the side, more than ready to move on. He was surprised to find gifts from many of the Slytherins. The Twins had given him a large box of practical jokes they'd been developing. Even Ron sent a box of fudge with a lengthy apology letter saying he wanted to still be friends. If he had been made to do it, it wouldn't have nearly as long as it was. It was surprisingly genuine. All in all, it was a pretty great Christmas morning.

The two walked to breakfast together, Harry wearing his new jumper, and Lily reading the book from her father. Harry stopped by the Gryffindor table to thank the Twins for their gifts and thank Ron for his apology. Even face-to-face, he seemed to mean it. All the other Gryffindors apologized as well, and he moved on to the Ravenclaw table. He thanked Hermione for the books, assuring her that he would be reading them. He then joined Lily and his other Slytherin Friends at their House Table. He ate happily, laughing with his friends, and happy he was able to move past thoughts of the Tournament for now.

~ ~ ~ ~

The next task came just before spring would start showing its face. Cedric's tip to listen to the egg underwater had been a huge help, and so had Dobby when he brought Harry the Gillyweed. It was now February, a lonely Valentine's Day passed Harry without much to show for it. He mostly stayed in his dorm to hide from all the Valentine's Day gifts he got.

_"Poor Potter. Gets so many Valentine's gifts, he has to hide in his dorm." Malfoy waltzed into the room carrying an expensive-looking box of chocolate in a language Harry didn't understand. Clearly from his parents._

_"I assure you, Malfoy. A majority of the chocolates I get are laced with love potions. I'm not interested in being drugged by some idol-crazed girls. I'd rather have nothing at all."_

_Malfoy poked his head out of the dorm room door and sifted through the growing pile of presents. "There's one here from Lilith. Also, one from those Weasley Twins. Though they seem to favour you, I'm sure even you are not safe from their pranks. I'd be careful about that one." Harry nodded and said he'd go through them later and find ones he knew would be okay._

Now he stood on the dock with the other Champions at the Great Lake. Everyone else had made their way into the stands, ready for an hour of watching the surface of the lake. It was obvious it would still be cold out. Why didn't they wait to do this task when it was warmer? They had all year. Harry could have sworn they were trying to kill them as he stood shivering in his uniform. This one was different than the uniform for the dragons. This one was made for the water. Speaking of which, the water looked murky, mysterious, and not at all inviting. Mr and Mrs Weasley stood with him. Ron had stopped by with the Twins before they joined Gryffindor. Hermione and Lily were nowhere in sight. He thought they would want to come to make sure he was okay in the end. But he couldn't worry about that right now.

He could feel the slimy Gillyweed in his jacket pocket. His stomach was in knots. Mostly because there was no certainty that it would work. Then what would he do? Also, what was under the lake? Harry had looked through his things and hadn't found anything missing. So what could the missing object be?

Sooner than Harry would have liked, Dumbledore's voice rang out, announcing the second task, following it with the rules and objective. Just before the canon blew, Harry shoved the Gillyweed in his mouth and began to chew. It felt as slimy in his mouth as it had in his pocket. Then the canon blew and he dove into the water with the other Champions. For one horrifying moment, he thought the Gillyweed wasn't going to work. He would have to forfeit. There was nothing else he could do at such a short amount of time.

Then his hands and feet began to transform. Webs—quite like a duck's foot—began to grow between his digits. His neck felt strange, and when he reached up to see what it was, he felt gills under his fingers. He let out a breath of relief and breathed in victoriously. He began swimming as fast as he could—which was pretty bloody fast with webbed hands and feet. He encountered nothing on the way to the deepest part of the lake where small, friendly water creatures and merpeople were pointing him. Finally, he reached his destination and suddenly understood why none of his things had been missing.


	13. Chapter 13

Before Harry were merpeople with spears. They guarded what the Champions were supposed to retrieve. Harry wanted to strangle whoever decided this for a task. Before him was Hermione, Lily, Cho Chang, and a little blonde girl. Harry was sure the threat of them being lost after an hour was empty. They wouldn't just leave students down here. Would they? Harry quickly swam towards his friends. He pulled Lily out of the stasis bubble and held her as he reached for Hermione. But one of the merpeople pointed their spear at him. And warned him to take only his due prize. Harry waited and waited for the other Champions. He wanted to be sure the other students were okay.

Krum came first. He had transfigured his head into a shark's head. He swooped in and gently held Hermione in his arms as he began to swim for the surface. Harry watched still. He used a vision enhancing spell he had learned on his own. It was a good thing too because he could see Miss Delacour struggling with some Grindylows and eventually be removed by ministry officials. He figured that was it for her. He turned to the merpeople.

"You should let her go." He pointed at the little girl he could now only assume was Miss Delacour's prize, "Her Champion isn't coming." The merpeople nodded and Harry watched her float to the top as Cedric swam into the clearing. He saw Harry with his prize and tapped the watch on his wrist. He let Harry go ahead of him, seeing as he was there long before he was.

They surfaced several meters from each other, but as soon as Harry took a deep breath, some Grindylows pulled him under. He heard screams and shrieks muffle as he struggled to both released himself and hold his breath because the Gillyweed had worn off just before he had reached the surface with Lily. Now, he struggled as the sharp, little claws of the creatures fulling him down dug through his flesh. The blood that trickled from the open wounds only pushed them into more of a frenzy. He saw ministry officials trying to reach him as he sank deeper and deeper. He felt his lungs run out of air. He carefully relieved pressure from his lungs by letting out little bubbles of carbon dioxide. No one dove into the water after him. He felt himself getting dizzy from oxygen deprivation. His vision started going black. His mouth, throat, and lungs started filling with water.

As quickly as they had come, the claws of the grindylows' claws were gone, and he felt something large and vaguely squishy rushing him through the water until he felt his clammy skin hit the cold air. Whatever was holding him had shocked the audience, because not a sound was heard other than the splash of whatever saved him going back into the water and the crash of the Lake's waves on the dock and shore. His sense of sound was flooded with professors, contestants, and friends calling his name frantically. He tried to breathe, but his lungs were so full of water, that there was no room left for the air. He heard the sound of the school's Medi-Witch walking quickly towards him. She forced everyone back, but Lily ignored her and stayed by his side, holding his hand.

Madam Pomfrey turned him over on his stomach and ordered, "Cough, Harry." He did and water poured out of his lungs. He coughed and coughed until he started coughing up blood. His throat has been worn raw enough by the water, but the coughing put it over the top. He laid there shivering as Lily, Madam Pomfrey, Mrs. Weasley, and Hermione began piling dry towels—charmed warm—on him. Lily held him in her arms and he felt the dizziness come over him again. He began to panic.

"Shh, Harry. It's okay. It'll all be okay. Sleep. We'll take care of you." Lily whispered in his ear. And so, he slept.

When he next woke up, he was in the infirmary and his throat hurt like hell. Like he had swallowed a million razors, swallowed buckets of needles, then proceeded to drink salty lemon juice. Madam Pomfrey came into the main room from her office.

"How are you feeling Mr. Potter?" She came to his bed, potions in tow. He tried to speak, but his voice wouldn't work and trying made his throat feel like he had swallowed liquid lava. The medi-witch held up a hand to stop him. "Don't bother trying to speak, you'll only make it worse. Now, using your _fingers_, on a scale of one to ten—one being the least, ten being the most—how much pain do you have?"

Without hesitation, he easily held up an eight. She nodded and her quill made a short note on her clipboard. She handed him several potions with instructions to drink them with his next meal and not to eat any foods that were too solid—stick to puddings and soups and the like. "Now, go on your way. Your friends are worried about you. If you have any side-effects or your throat gets worse or doesn't get any better, you know where I am." With that, she returned to her office and Harry went to Lunch.

When Harry entered the Hall, everyone was already there and he saw all of his close friends waiting for him at his regular seat. He sat down with them, between Lily and Hermione. As soon as he sat, they began raining questions down on him. He held up a hand to stop them then patted his neck, meaning he couldn't speak. Hermione asked him how long until it was better. He shrugged because Madam Pomfrey hadn't given him any amount of time. It would probably be a while.

"That sucks, mate," Fred said across from him.

"Yeah," George added, "It really does."

Harry only shrugged again, took his potions and ate what he could.

~ ~ ~ ~

Madam Pomfrey had sent notes to all of his teachers that he wouldn't be able to speak in class so he wasn't called on, even by Professor Snape. He was glad for that because he was in a lot of pain and didn't really feel like trying to force his voice to do anything at that point. But at the end of the Potions class with the Gryffindors, the Potions Master called him to the front.

"I know you're having trouble with your throat. Being distracted by pain is terrible to potions-work. Here." The man handed his two potions. "One will help the pain, one is an advanced healing potion that will speed up the healing." Harry looked up at him with confusion—obviously wondering why the man that seemed to hate him for so long was trying to help him—but took the potions anyway and was very grateful for it. He took them immediately and handed the vials back to the Professor. He sighed in relief and his muscles relaxed as the pain slowly began to dissipate. He hoped his thanks were conveyed to the professor before he had to leave for his next class.


	14. Chapter 14

Harry was very confused the morning before the third task when he came into the Great Hall for breakfast and saw Dumbledore talking with a few people at the Teachers' Table. But that wasn't what was strange. What was strange was the fact that who he was talking to was the Dursleys. Harry froze where he was walking on his way to the Slytherin table when he saw them. What were they doing here? They hate magic. They would never come here. In his peripheral, he could see the Twins holding Ron back from the Dursleys.

Lily arrived at his elbow, "What is it, Harry? Is something wrong?" That shook him out of his trance and as the four anomalies at the front of the Hall turned to him, he turned to Lily.

"It's nothing, let's just sit. We're drawing attention to ourselves." She nodded and together they made their way to their regular seats. Not a moment after sitting down, Professor Snape came up behind him as said he was wanted in Dumbledore's office. He looked back up to the front table and saw the four were no longer there. He nodded to his Head of House and bid his friends goodbye. He returned Hermione and Ron's concerned glances with a shrug and a resigned look. He saw that Lily noticed this and stood to sit with Hermione. No doubt to ask about it. But he couldn't worry about that now.

All too soon, he was in front of Dumbledore's door, spouting every sweet—muggle and wizard alike—that he could think of. The door opened and he made his way up the spiral staircase with caution. When he knocked, Dumbledore's voice answered, allowing him entry. Upon entering, He saw that Dudley and Uncle Vernon and had taken the two seats and Aunt Petunia was left to stand. He approached her.

"Hey, Aunt Petunia," They hugged. Harry nodded to the other two, knowing that talking to them wouldn't be a good idea. They waited a bit. For what, Harry didn't know until the Potions Master entered. He nodded politely to Petunia and downright ignored the other two.

"What did you need me for, Professor?" Harry asked timidly, worried about their company. He gingerly stood beside his aunt who had a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"You are here, Harry because your Uncle has asked if you could be schooled at home." Harry froze, his body stiff with panic. Hogwarts had become his home, he had gotten comfortable in his new house, and now he had to leave?

"I think that that might be the safest thing for you." Dumbledore continued.

"Safer?" Harry said softly, in a broken voice. "No, I won't. _Hogwarts_ is my home. I won't go back."

Dumbledore ignored his protests, "You would, of course, finish this year. You can't drop from the tournament in the last task after all. If you dropped out at all, you'll lose your magic."

Harry scoffed, "I might as well if I'm going back there." He walked out the door until he reached the bottom of the spiral staircase, then he began to run. He ran and ran, straight through the Great Hall where Breakfast was still going on, out the front doors, across the grounds until he collapsed against a tree just inside the Forbidden Forest. He hadn't known he was followed until he saw Lily, Hermione, Ron, the Twins, and his Head of House quickly moving towards him in his peripheral. He curled in on himself, back against bark and arms around his legs. He didn't cry. What good would that do? He learned a long time ago that crying only meant dehydration.

Lily reached him first, closely followed by Hermione. "Harry, what's wrong? What happened?" He only buried his face further into his knees. Professor Snape arrived soon after.

"Why is it so horrible for you to go back there, Potter?" He asked, genuine confusion and slight concern, of mixed with a bit of disbelief, showing on his face. Harry looked up at him, face turned pale from dread.

"Do you know legilimency, Professor?" The man looked taken aback but nodded cautiously. "I can show you my life at the Dursleys, but you have to promise not to go snooping around." Again, the man nodded cautiously. He sat on the ground in front of Harry, legs crossed. Harry leaned tiredly against the tree.

Severus took out his wand, and Harry seemed to be getting his thoughts together, looking thoroughly uncomfortable while doing so. _"Legilimens!" _Severus was pulled into Harry's mind, but could only see _darkness._

_"Up, get up!" A voice shouted from what sounded like behind a door or a wall. He heard locks unlocking. A small light hanging naked from the ceiling was turned on, and the man turned to see a child who could have been no more than five years sitting up from an old mattress from a baby's crib. He found himself in a very small room. Cobwebs hung from every corner. On the walls hung pictures drawn with—he assumed—the stubs of crayons on the floor and small pieces of enveloped with a bit of grease or old pieces of food here and there. They'd probably been fetched from the rubbish. He heard the small door beside him unlock, and the small boy, wearing clothes far too big, with a messy haircut and broken and taped glasses. He combed through his hair with a broken-off end of a comb and the man saw the confirmation he was dreading. There was a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. The boy was Harry Potter. He watched the boy pull a good-sized spider from his holey pair of socks before putting them on and putting on an over-sized pair of shoes._

_As he was about to leave, two pairs of elephantine footsteps went down the stairs—which Severus had assumed was above them considering the shape of the ceiling. Young Harry waited until they had passed before he carefully made his way out. Severus followed him to the kitchen where he began preparing breakfast for his three relatives. On the counter beside the fridge, was a long list of chores titled "Potter's Chores" at the top. Everything on the list was hard, strenuous labour. He couldn't imagine most adults being about to complete any one of the tasks in a day without hurting themselves. Not to mention, a lot of it was outside and it was snowing heavily in addition to the foot of snow already there._

_The memory changed. Harry was nearly eleven. He was trying to hide a letter with a Hogwarts wax seal from his cousin. Vernon snatched it, saw where it was from and ordered the boys out. The memory flashed through what happened in the next few days up to the moment Vernon decided to leave the house._

_Again, it changed. This time, to Harry's second year. He had a small bedroom filled with broken things and unused books. There were bars on the small window and many locks on the door. At the bottom of the door was a cat flap, before which sat an empty bowl and spoon. In an owl cage, which held Harry's owl Hedwig, sat soggy vegetables at the bottom that the owl refused to eat. Just seeing this was bad enough, then he turned and saw the boy wrapping up what must have been an infected sting of some sort. He wrapped it with an old t-shirt. Nothing to clean it and nothing to aid the healing process. _Severus threw himself from the depths of Harry's memories.


	15. Chapter 15

Lily, Hermione, Ron, and the Twins watched as their potions Professor leaned back on one hand and another covered his face. Harry watched him with some concern. They were all startled when their professor jumped to his feet, pulled Harry to his feet. He pulled the boy after him back into the castle. Everyone was at classes so Snape ordered the Gryffindors and Hermione to class. He asked Lily to come with him as what he was planning would concern her.

Harry was immensely confused and fairly concerned when he found himself in front of Dumbledore's gargoyle for the second time that hour. He was pulled up the spiral staircase and Lily rushed after them. Severus barged into the Headmaster's office without as much as a word of warning. The Dursley men were at the wall, talking to themselves while Petunia discussed something with Albus. When the three barged into the room, all four members of the room were startled into silence. Severus gestured for Harry to sit down and the boy quickly complied having never seen his potions professor so passionate about anything.

"I will not stand by, Albus. Not now that I know exactly what has gone on under those muggles' roof. As his Head of House, I must advise you with complete sincerity never to send that poor boy back into that home."

"Now, Severus, there's no need to overreact-"

"I swear to Merlin, Albus. I will bring both the wizarding and muggle law enforcement into this. That boy cannot go back there or you won't have a hero or a saviour, you'll have another Tom Riddle. Harry was looking between the wizards with panic in his eyes.

"Professor?" They turned to Harry, who said in a small voice, "I'm alright. I only showed you so you would understand."

"I cannot let this go ignored, that would be neglect on my part and I will not let a child continue to suffer once I know the situation." HE turned back to Dumbledore, "I demand you remove those muggles as his guardians and put him with a respectable wizarding family who can protect him. Any wards from Lily's sacrifice that _may_ have been there were demolished the moment they treated that boy badly. He has never been safe."

Dumbledore seemed to age before their eyes, until he truly looked his age. He asked the Dursleys to step out for a moment and he put a silencing charm on the door. "Very well, Severus. But no one can take him. He would have to go to an orphanage. "

This time, Lily spoke, "Why don't we take him?" She said. The three wizards turned to her, "My father is the most talented wizard I know. It's just me around the house and Harry's been like family to me ever since we met."

"The twinkle returned to Dumbledore's eye, "Excellent notion, my girl."

Severus scowled at him, "I think they should get to class while we discuss this, don't you, Albus?" the Headmaster nodded and the two 4th years hurried on to their first class of the day. As they passed the Dursleys Harry ducked away from Vernon's swipe and jumped over Dudley's leg. They hurried to their seats and their housemates glanced at Harry in concern. He ignored them for now. He just wanted this day to be over.

~ ~ ~ ~

Harry was in the middle of Arithmancy next to Hermione when one of the Slytherin Prefects came into the class and said that Professor Snape was asking for him. When he was dismissed and he followed the prefect into the hall, he found Lily there waiting.

"Do you think it's about my suggestion?" Lily whispered to him as they followed the Prefect to the dungeons.

"It must be. There isn't anything else it could be." They chatted over what Dumbledore and Severus might have agreed to until they reached the Potions Master's office.

The Prefect knocked, announced their arrival, and they were called into the room to join the man by the roaring fireplace. They sat and were offered tea, which they gladly accepted. Anything for something to do. It was a long moment before anyone said anything.

"Are we here about Lily's suggestion, Professor?" Harry asked. He did still have _some_ Gryffindor courage. The man nodded and sipped his tea.

"Dumbledore has agreed with Lilith's plan and I must say that there is no safer option that I can think of. I can't guarantee it will be entirely safe, but—"

"I'm sure anywhere short of Voldemort's very home would be safer than the Dursleys', sir."

Severus twitched slightly at the interruption, but nodded, "I imagine so. From this year onward, you will be coming home with us. I normally apparate home directing from Hogsmeade, but if you two would like to ride the train with your friends, then you may do so. I can apparate into Kings' Cross and pick you up directly from the Platform. You needn't worry about space, there are plenty of extra rooms in my home and I'm currently borrowing some of Hogwarts' elves to tidy up one of them for you. If you have any question, feel free to owl me, but now you must return to your classes."

They left and Harry was glad of three things: 1. that he would get to stay with his best friend, 2. That he wouldn't have to go back to the Dursleys, and 3. That Snape seemed to tolerate him far more than when he was in Gryffindor. Maybe he finally saw that Harry was not his father and that whatever grudge the man had against him, did not apply to Harry.

Harry dropped Lily off at her classroom because it was on his way to class. He returned to his seat beside Hermione. At her questioning look, he only said, "Life just got a whole lot better."

~ ~ ~ ~

Harry was nervous about living with, as most students called him, the "Dungeon Bat", he was more than glad to get out of the situation with the Dursleys. But now that that minor fiasco was dealt with, he had his mind on the third and final task tomorrow, not to mention what had happened with Mr Crouch and Krum. He couldn't keep his mind off of the maze and what could have possibly happened to Mr Crouch and Krum. It was more than clear by now that someone had entered Harry for reasons that could not be good. But whether he was scared, or worried, or what have you, he had to follow through anyway.

Back on the topic of his change of guardianship, Lily had told him at lunch that the Headmaster, the Dursleys and Severus had filled out and sent documents to both wizarding and muggle departments dealing with guardianship. Now, all that waited was approval, but Lily did not doubt that it would be accepted. While he ate lunch, he wondered what life would be like living with the Snapes. They seemed Lily and her father seemed to have a good relationship, so he imagined they had a good home-life. He was anxious to find out, in both a good way and a bad way.


	16. Chapter 16

The morning of the final Tri-wizard task came and Harry couldn't eat. He sat at the Slytherin table with a pale face and a panicked expression. His friends sat around him, desperately trying to get him to eat, Hermione and Lily especially. Eventually, he simply dropped his head on the table. Draco Malfoy took this time to speak to Harry directly for the first time all year, "Snakes don't show when they're afraid, Potter." He immediately turned around and minded his own business when Harry looked at him and he saw his face. He probably looked like death.

The evening before, Vernon and Dudley had left the school as soon as it was clear that they were no longer needed. They didn't want anything to do with Harry from then on. But his Aunt Petunia stayed. He was her only sister's son, after all. She didn't want to completely throw that away and now that Harry was moving in with his mother's old friend, chances to fix things between them would be few to none. So she would join the Weasleys—and now the Snapes—in sending him off for the last task.

On the topic of the last task, Professor Snape was walking towards him now. "Mr Potter. They want every champion to meet with the tournament officials and family members after breakfast. You will have the rest of the day free to practice anything you deem necessary, and I must recommend you do." Once he was finished, the man quickly returned to his tea and toast. The entire time, Harry's head never left the table and those around him grew more and more worried every second.

He'd walked into the Great Hall late with a pale face, robes in disarray, and eye-bags like you've never seen. He'd dragged his feet towards the Slytherin table and all but fell into his usual seat. For some time, no one dared look at him or speak to him, but soon enough Lily and Hermione couldn't let it alone. Hermione hurried over with her plate and Lily began piling food on a plate for Harry and tried to get him to eat something. When Hermione arrived and sat beside him she joined in.

Now, he finally picked up his head, but instead of eating, like they had all hoped, he stood, announced he was going to the library and left the same way he had entered. When the others had finished their food they snuck out some fruit in their robes for Harry and made their way to the library. They found Harry surrounded by piles upon piles of books, reading and skimming one after another, almost obsessively. The twins reached the table first.

"Alright, Harry. Give us some of those."

"We're going to help you." They gave a pointed look at Ron, "_All_ of us."

They all sat down, taking several books at a time, sifting through, marking information that may be important with small slips of parchment. Not 20 minutes into their search, a Hufflepuff prefect came and summoned Cedric, and Harry to meet with the tournament official and their families.

"Don't worry," Hermione assured him, still looking through a large, dusty tome.

"We'll keep doing what we're doing and you guys can continue when you get back." Lily finished and the twins simply waved them off, quickly flipping through books. Ron had fallen asleep and Hermione removed the book under his cheek so he wouldn't drool on it. The two Hogwarts champions nodded and left with the Prefect.

They passed dozens of students in the corridors, some sporting green and silver, and others sporting yellow and black, in support of their preferred Champion. They were led to a large room that was fairly dark and lit by a roaring fireplace. First, the Champions had to talk to the tournament officials. It was just to remind them of the rules and things like that. It took very little time and soon they were meeting with their families. Severus and Petunia sat by the fire discussing something among themselves. Mr and Mrs Weasley stood talking with one of their older sons who Harry could only assume—by the fact that he wasn't a student, but wasn't Charlie—was Bill Weasley.

Rather than interrupt what looked like an important discussion between his teacher and his aunt, he moved towards the Weasleys. First, he hugged Mrs Weasley—or, more accurately, was hugged—and shook hands with Mr Weasley who, then, introduced him to—as he had guessed correctly—Bill Weasley. He talked with them and could hear the conversations of the Diggorys, the Krums, the Delacours and the other two in the room. When Mrs Weasley expressed a desire to visit her children, he suggested the library first as the current location of three of her children. Ginny was spending the day with Luna in Ravenclaw. He bid them goodbye and they promised to be with him before the third task started. He decided to sit next to his aunt on a small couch before the fire and waited for the two to finish by staring into the flames.

The two finished and Harry and Petunia hugged, Severus looked mildly uncomfortable and Harry had a feeling he was a great deal more uncomfortable than he showed. He spoke with then for a while but excused himself to continue his research. They, too, promised to see him before the third task and he left.

When he got to the library, Hermione and Lily were splitting the sorted through books in sections: one for books with useful information and one for books without. He thanked them for helping him and continued where he had left off. Ron had, apparently, been woken by his mother because he was once more sifting through pages, but he was going through much slower than the others and was beginning to nod off again. Harry only laughed a little. His mood had been alleviated enough by his visit with the Weasleys and having his friends help him, that he was able to eat an apple than Hermione had brought in one of her robe pockets—though they were all allowed to wear everyday clothes, she still chose to wear her school robes.

They searched until lunch when even Harry admitted how ravenous he was feeling. He was able to eat a cheese toasty and some chips. His friends were very happy with his progress, but his mood began deteriorating once more when they began to search through the library books again. The task began at dusk and they were rapidly running out of time with little to show for it. Eventually, they all decided to take the books they thought would be useful and start practising for the task in one of their common rooms. The Gryffindor room was decided on because most of the Gryffindors were outside enjoying the weather.

They practised for hours, taking small breaks until they had no choice but to head to the Quidditch Pitch. Harry was not looking forward to this...


	17. Chapter 17

Darkness fell and Harry put on his uniform for the final task. He put his wand in the arm holster he was given and took a deep breath. His heart was racing in his chest and his stomach was tying itself in knots. He felt nauseous and a little dizzy as he made his way through the deserted halls towards the Quidditch Pitch. Everyone, excepting the champions, was already in the stands. He met Cedric at the door and he didn't look much better than Harry did. This only made Harry worry more because, if someone so much more magically advanced than him was as nervous as he was...

They walked together and joined the other two Champions in front of the maze. The stands were filled with Durmstrang's burgundy, Beauxbaton's pale blue, Hufflepuff yellow, and Slytherin green. The Gryffindor stands were a mix between yellow and green but Slytherin was all green. Ravenclaw was a mixture as well and though some people were supporting Harry in Hufflepuff, the specks of green were washed out by the overwhelming yellow. Harry knew the crowd was cheering, they were on their feet and clapping and the like, but he could hear nothing. He wasn't sure if it was because he was nervous or if they were just that loud. He reached the area where he would enter the maze and found himself surrounded by people that had become important parts of his life in the past year: Lily, Professor Snape, Aunt Petunia, and Mr and Mrs Weasley.

It had been decided that they would enter the maze based on their place among the other Champions. This meant that Cedric and Harry—who were tied for 1st—would enter the maze first, at the same time; Viktor would go next, and then Fleur last. Aunt Petunia hugged him after Mrs Weasley did, and nearly as hard. They were all worried about him because, with all that had happened, everyone was sure that someone was trying to hurt or kill Harry. Dumbledore made his usual speech before the beginning of the task, telling the crowd the rules that the Champions had already heard.

He took a deep breath.

Just before the canon—which would announce when Harry and Cedric were supposed to enter the maze—went off, Lily came and hugged him hard, "Be careful, Harry. Don't do anything stupid." Harry nodded and just as he was about to say something back, the cannon went off and Professor Moody pushed him into the maze.

He'd heard somewhere that as long as you follow the right-hand wall of the maze, you'll eventually get where you're supposed to go. At this point, he didn't care if he won. He just wanted this to be over. He kept hitting dead ends but didn't worry about it. He just had to keep moving. Five minutes after he and Cedric had entered, he heard Viktor's canon go off and five minutes after that, Fleur's.

Twenty minutes after every Champion had entered the maze, he heard a scream nearby that must have been Fleur's. He refused to let him Gryffindor tendencies take over and kept on his way. As he walked, he passed some Aurors on brooms coming to retrieve the unconscious Fleur. He quickly kept on his way and out of theirs. He walked and walked and as he walked, he saw Cedric on the ground, stunned. No one seemed to know that he was there, so Harry shot red sparks into the air above him and continued on his way. He turned a corner and saw Krum stunned as well. He shot up more red sparks and, again continued. He wasn't sure if having all the other Champions out of the maze meant he won, so he just kept on his way.

A moment later he found what he was looking for. The hedges stopped and before him was a large clearing. In the middle of the clearing stood on a pedestal was the Tri-Wizard Cup. It glowed blue in the darkness and Harry hurried towards it. He'd won. The youngest champion who was never supposed to be there won.

His feeling of triumph vanishes as soon as he touched the cup and found it was a portkey.

~ ~ ~ ~

The tournament officials decided to allow Harry to finish the maze, simply because he was so close, but they kept an eye on him as he went. The cheering crowd went silent, however, when he grabbed the cup and disappeared but didn't reappear at the front of the maze. Dumbledore stood, telling everyone to remain calm and that there must have been some technical difficulties with the portkey. That they would find Harry as quickly as they could.

Aurors, Professors and parents searched and searched the grounds and halls for the-boy-who-lived, but with no luck. Harry Potter was gone from Hogwarts.

~ ~ ~ ~

Harry fell to his knees in the darkness, the only light coming off of the cup. There was soft dirt under his knees and silence deafened him. He pushed himself to his feet with shaking limbs and looked around himself. He seemed to be in a graveyard.

In the distance, on a hill, sat a manor that looked strangely familiar. He didn't have time to think about it, however, because suddenly there was a rustling behind him. Out of the shadows came a figure in robes, hunched over and carrying a baby-sized bundle. Harry was freaked and every single Gryffindor cell in his body died and Slytherin took over. Before the figure could so much as look at him, he ran and dove towards the Tri-Wizard cup, hoping it would act as a portkey back to Hogwarts.

In a flash of blue light, Harry disappeared from the dark graveyard. He heard a raspy scream of protest as he left. He landed on his knees in front of the maze, more than happy to be done with the Tournament. Mr Bagman announced, "We have our Tri-Wizard Champion! Harry Potter of Slytherin from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" The crowd cheered and Lily raced from the stands and enveloped him in a bear hug stronger than Mrs Weasley's. Harry wrapped his arms around her as well and was soon surrounded by the arms of the Weasleys, Hermione, and his Aunt. Severus stood to the side, looking relieved at seeing him back and unharmed, but almost like he knew something. But Harry didn't want to think about that now. He just wanted to go to bed. So, when his loved ones released him, he made his excuses and went to his dorm, falling asleep without so much as changing from his dirty clothes.


	18. Chapter 18

Harry woke up at nearly three in the morning and noticed someone had pulled his blankets up over him while he slept. He laid there for a moment, wondering what had woken him up. Then something moved in his peripheral moved. He looked to the end of his bed and there stood a silhouette, wand aloft. Harry grabbed his wand from under his pillow and pointed it at the intruder. "Stupefy!" The figure fell to the ground and Harry narrowly dodged the bright green light coming from their wand, but fell off his bed in the process, waking up Malfoy and Zabini. He blindly scrambled on his bedside table for glasses he didn't remember taking off and cast a Patronus. "Bring Dumbledore." With those two words, the glowing stag rushed off to accomplish its task and Harry lit a _lumos_ over the face of his attacker. He recognized the man as Bartimus Crouch Jr. who was, supposedly, dead.

A moment later, Professor Snape and the Headmaster followed by two or three aurors rushed into the room. Harry looked up as they entered and stepped back to let them handle the situation. The adrenaline was beginning to wear off and exhaustion coloured his actions and appearance once more. He opened his trunk, suddenly feeling the need for a shower now that he was slightly less tired than when he had first come into the dorm. As he was removing pyjamas, pants, a towel and his toiletries, the aurors _ennervated _the man who, upon seeing Harry, pointed at him and shouted, "You were supposed to stay! You were supposed to help bring him back! Why couldn't you just follow the plan like a bloody Gryffindor?"

Severus cast a _silencio_ on him and gestured for Harry to continue what he was doing. Harry nodded and kept walking to the dorm room's private bathroom.

When he came out, Harry felt clean and refreshed and found no one in his room but his new guardian, the Headmaster, and his aunt. They were all chatting while Draco and Blaise talked on their own on the blond's bed. Harry returned his things to where they were meant to go, putting his dirty clothes in their laundry bin. He sat on his bed and yawned. "Unless you have something you want to talk to me about, I'm still exhausted, and I would appreciate being able to go back to sleep." The adults turned to him, nodded, and agreed to continue their conversation in the morning when they had all slept.

~ ~ ~ ~

Harry entered the Great Hall with Lily and saw Dumbledore, Snape, and Petunia all chatting at the Head Table. He presumed it was about last night or something equally as serious by the looks on their faces. He sat down in his usual seat and piled his plate high with toast, eggs, and bacon. With the morning mail flew in an owl Harry didn't know, carrying a small parcel. It had nothing on it besides _For Harry Potter_ and showed no indication of who might have sent it. He looked up at the front table where Petunia, Severus, and Albus were talking. Snape had looked over when he noticed an unfamiliar owl with a package. He excused himself from the conversation for a moment and made his way towards the Slytherin table.

"Do you know who sent this?"

"No, I'm not going to open it without making sure it's safe. Someone's been trying to kill me all year, why would they stop now?" Severus nodded and decided to perform a few detection spells—advanced and not—on the parcel and deemed it safe to open. Meaning there was nothing in it that should harm him and there were no enchantments upon it—other than one to make sure it didn't get wet or messed up during delivery. Harry cautiously began peeling back the brown paper as Severus returned to the Head Table, but the man kept an eye on the boy.

A little wooden box remained when the wrappings had been removed. On the lid of the box was a crest of some kind. Harry decided to ask Hermione, she probably knew. The box was held closed with a small, unlocked latch. He gingerly popped the latch and slowly opened the box lid.

The first thing Harry saw when he opened the box was a slip of parchment with a note on it:

_Harry Potter:_

_It has come to our attention that you have not received what you were due once you turned eleven. Your parents left the contents of this box to you for your eleventh birthday in the case of their deaths. We apologize for the delay in getting it to you. If you have any questions, owl us with them or you may suggest a time to meet up providing that you have a guardian that can be present. May your enemies fall by your hand._

_Griphook, Goblin of Gringotts_

Under the note, the inside of the box was lined with a maroon velvet cushion. Nestled in the cushion was a ring of garnet set in white gold with the same crest as was on the box. It must have been the Potter family ring. Potter is traditionally a pureblood name and Harry had read somewhere that pureblood families usually have a family ring passed down through heirs. He removed the ring from its bed and looked at it closely.

It was a thin band, but not so thin it would bend or break. The gemstone was not too large, but still noticeable and there were miniature Potter crests formed with tiny diamonds on either side of the garnet. It seemed a little big for him, but he tried it on and it shrunk to fit his finger. He stared at it as it glimmered in the light coming from the ceiling. He didn't think it would be practical to have a ring on his hand at all times—not to mention he'd rather not have people asking about it—so he took a teaspoon on the table nearby and—making sure it was clean—transfigured it into a thin chain necklace and laced it through the ring. He clasped the chain around his neck and placed it carefully under his jumper. He shivered a little at how cold it was but quickly got used to it.

Severus watched on, relieved that it was harmless. But he had a feeling someone else had a hand in why Harry only got the Heir Ring now. He looked over and saw Dumbledore watching Harry as well, with a twinkle in his eye. Severus scowled and left the Great Hall, quickly followed by Petunia. Protecting Harry Potter is going to be harder with Albus Dumbledore holding the reigns.

~ ~ ~ ~

The last day of school was both happy and sad for many people. They were all glad to have time off, but a lot of the students knew they would miss their friends while they were away. As for Harry Potter and Lilith Snape, nothing could bring down their moods. Harry finally got away from the despicable Dursley men and got to live with one of his best friends. He was a little nervous about living with his Potions professor, but he figured anything would be better than being over-worked and starved over the summer. Lily was overjoyed that her idea had been taken seriously. She was glad Harry was out from under those muggles' thumbs and that he would be moving in with her, of all places. She knew they would have a ton of fun. They had a large backyard with a small Quidditch Pitch she and her mother used to play on before, well before she got pregnant with her brother, and they both... Anyway. She was glad to finally have someone to play with for the first time in six years. Her father wasn't one for Quidditch. He would watch her play, but never joined despite them having an extra broom or two.

They'd decided to join their friends on the train so Severus said he would join them at the Platform and they would apparate home from there. So Harry, Hermione, Lily, Neville, Luna, Ginny, Ron, the Twins, and Cedric all squeezed into one compartment. Some sat on the floor; Luna decided to perch herself on Ginny's lap and the twins—for some reason—decided to sit on the luggage racks and let their feet dangle over the sides. Ron kept complaining about being kicked in the face and eventually everyone got so tired of it, the Twins decided to sit cross-legged. Harry sat between Hermione and Lily, Ron across from Hermione, Cedric across from Harry, and Ginny and Luna across from Lily. Neville sat on the floor with his _Mimbulus mimbletonia_. They chatted and laughed and many who passed marvelled at the sight. Who would have thought that every House could be represented in one compartment, in one friend group, when all they knew at school was House rivalry? The eleven of them had become known as the Core and were looked on with awe, confusion, jealousy, and—despite their best efforts—a bit of hatred.


	19. Chapter 19

Like every year, the Platform was in chaos as soon as the students disembarked. Parents and siblings were rushing forward to hug and kiss and help with luggage. Mr and Mrs Weasley came for the Weasley children, who all hugged their friends goodbye before leaving for the dinner Mrs Weasley had just made. Mr and Mrs Granger were next to come greeted Harry cordially, asked the group how their school year had been, and walked away with Hermione as she spilt about her classes and everything that had happened that year that she hadn't sent in a letter. Next was Luna who jumped into her father's arms when he came into view. She parted with a hug and her usual strange words. Neville and Cedric left at once. Cedric's parents came to get him alongside Neville's nan and they all said goodbye, promising to owl. With the rest of their friend group gone, Lily and Harry made their way to a less populated part of the Platform where Severus was waiting beside the Malfoys. As the two walked up, Draco also emerged from the crowd. They parted, but not without Lily politely bidding adieu to her godparents, which Harry was both surprised and unsurprised to find out. As they walked to a floo—they had decided in the last few days that it would be safer to floo than for Severus to try to side-apparate two children—Lily spoke, "Did you know, Harry," She said, "That your mother was my godmother as well?"

Harry looked at her in surprise and shook his head, "No, I didn't." Lily smiled at him and flooed to her home, and Harry's new one. He took a deep breath, grabbed a handful of floo powder, let out the breath and did the same thing he did in Second Year, but he made sure to say it correctly and clearly.

He tumbled out into the Snapes' living room, somehow managing to protect his glasses in the fall. Lily laughed, brushing soot from her clothes and reminding herself to ask her father to get the fireplace cleaned, "I guess I'm going to have to teach you how to come out of a floo properly, aren't I?" Harry scowled a little and wiped grime from his glasses. Despite how unpleasant flooing was, he was sure that he didn't want to know how bad other modes of Wizarding transportation was. He would much rather have flown, however.

Lily chuckled and grabbed Harry by the hand, interrupting his attack on his clothes. "C' mon, I'll show you to your room."

Severus came through the floo, "Be in the kitchen by six, you two."

Lily shouted back from the hall, "Yes, Papa!"

They reached a door in the hall that was closed and a little worn. Across the hall from the door was another door, better kept, with a sign on it saying _"Lily's Room" _in pretty, hand-painted cursive. Surrounded by white roses and lilies.

"C' mon, Harry. Let's put your things in your room. I'm gonna have to get dad to let me repaint that door." She pulled him into the unused room. It was empty save for some dust bunnies and cobwebs, perhaps a spider or two. The carpet was originally a nice emerald colour but was nearly grey with dust. Lily would have used magic to clean up the room, but even when there are no muggles around, they can't use underage magic.

"We can tidy things up after dinner," Lily assured, "Just put your things down somewhere and we can hang out in my room. I've got some things I want to show you." She left him and walked into her room. He carefully put his trunk against the wall near the door, put Hedwig's cage by the large window, and let her out to hunt. They were both glad on that front that they weren't at the Dursleys'. Once he was sure she'd be okay, he left the window open and her cage and went across the hall to Lily's room.

He found her sitting on her canopy bed and holding a Slytherin-green book with silver writing. Her room was pretty, but not incredibly girly. Her sheets were champagne-coloured; she had a lavender duvet and a faux fur, royal purple throw on her bed. In the corner beside her window was an ivory-coloured hammock chair with lavender throw-pillows in it. She had large bookshelves filled and over-flowing with tomes varying in sizes from as small as a business card to some as big as an atlas and as thick as seven stacked atop each other. At the end of her bed sat her Hogwarts trunk, open and in the process of being unpacked. The carpet was a nice dusty pink and was so soft you could sleep on it. She had a small fireplace in one corner—currently not lit—in front of which sat two champagne-and-lavender striped armchairs. She had pale-pink flowing muslin—currently being blown around by the wind—as the canopy on her bed and part of the curtains on her window. The other curtains on the window were made of a thick, royal purple tweed.

Lily called him from the bed once she noticed him, "Harry, come here." He turned to her and sat beside her on her bed, "Did you know, that Merlin himself was a Slytherin?"

"Wow! Really?"

She nodded, "And not very many people know that. This book has all kind of cool facts about Slytherin. I have similar ones for Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. Papa got them for me when we decided I'd be going to Hogwarts. He wanted me to know everything about every house and not let my mind be swayed by what other people tell me or what house he and my mom were in. I'm guessing you let that Ronald Weasley influence you when you were first sorted?"

Harry flushed a little in shame but nodded anyway. "Sometimes I wonder what might have happened had I been first sorted into Slytherin." They talked for a while about that and about other things: what they would be doing for the summer, their plans for the future in terms of occupation, and Harry's upcoming birthday.

"I never really had a birthday before Hogwarts, and even then, I usually just got birthday wishes and sweets in the mail from my friends. But I don't mind. I would rather have nothing than become like _Dudley._"

From that moment Lily swore to shower Harry in gifts as much as was in her ability. She would make sure that he wouldn't want for anything; that he would be as much appreciated as he deserved; that he would never feel like he was alone in the fight that is the life of Harry Potter. She swore to herself as he changed the subject and started talking about next school year's Quidditch tryouts, that he would never be alone or unwanted again. Not as long as she lived.


	20. Chapter 20

Dinner was pleasant, and compared to dinners with the Dursleys, Harry thought it was downright enjoyable. They were all a little tired, it had been a long day, so Severus simply ordered some take-out. Harry enjoyed listening to Lily and his Professor speak to each other. It was clear they were close, that they had a good relationship. The sight made him happy for her, but it made him slightly wistful. What would his life have been like if he even had one of his parents? Would it have been better? Would he be happier? Safer? Would he have still been a Slytherin? He wasn't sure, but he didn't want to dwell on those thoughts. Thinking that way wouldn't bring them back, it would just upset him, and he had cried as much he could for his loss.

Instead, Harry moved his thoughts to more agreeable topics, like whether he might be chosen for the Slytherin Quidditch team the next year. Those thoughts were interrupted by a question from Lily.

"By the way, Harry. What did you do with the thousand-galleon prize money?"

Harry smiled and swallowed his bite, "I put most of it in Gringotts, but I also anonymously invested a good amount to an independent, up-and-coming business."

The other two at the table looked at him with a bit of surprise then Lily smiled, "That was bloody brilliant!"

"Language, young lady."

"Sorry, Papa. But, Harry, you really did deserve that prize money. I'm sure anyone else would have spent it on silly, over-expensive things. You were proper smart about it!"

Harry flushed a bit, ducked his head, and continued eating. He never had much of a want to spend money simply to spend it. He never had the money to do that anyway. He'd rather give some to people who need it and save the rest for a rainy day.

Throughout dinner, he began opening up more. He joined in the conversation and put in his opinion when they were discussing re-decorating his room for him. He decided to make the room ivory. It would help keep the room bright with natural lighting and it would help keep his mood up. He wanted a canopy bed with emerald muslin lined with faux-silver lining. His linens would be a pale-tan paired with a pale-green duvet. The woodwork in the room would be walnut—this included his bed, wardrobe, window panes, door frames, etc. His carpet would be the same pale green as his duvet.

It had all been settled and supper was cleaned up and done with. Severus told the two to hang out in the living room until he was finished cleaning and decorating the room. They told stories of the first three years of their education that they had not known each other. Lily told him how her tutor took her to the Dragon caves of Southern Africa to witness the hatching of the new broods in her third year. She said that it would normally have been a Seventh Year trip, but since her father was planning on transferring her to Hogwarts, they went ahead and did it. Harry told her about his adventures with his friends with the Philosopher's Stone, the Chamber of Secrets, and Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. He also told her exactly what happened in each task fourth year and what happened when he disappeared in the last task. Lily laughed at that, "I don't doubt that if you had been more Gryffindor, you would have stayed and dove right into every problem instead of finding another way out." She said wiping tears from her eyes. Harry watched them sparkle in mirth and firelight. The orange flames made her ice-blue eyes look like a sunset in a frosty pond. Like at the beginnings of a sunset in a cloudless sky. These thoughts made Harry blush. What was he doing, thinking things like that?

He was spared having to answer that question by Severus rejoining the two, announcing that the room was complete and he had taken the liberty to put a few of Harry's things away—with magic of course—and Harry thanked him graciously. He spent the rest of the evening adding some minor details to his room. He put a picture of Hermione, Ron, and himself on the bedside table, beside which he placed the photo album of his parents that Hagrid had put together for him. He put his school books on the bookshelf as well as books he'd gotten as gifts—mostly from Hermione. He put his broom and broom care things in the top of the wardrobe where he could reach, but they wouldn't be in the way. He hung up his school robes and everyday clothes in the wardrobe and lined the bottom with his shoes. Satisfied with his work so far, he decided to continue in the morning. He put on his pyjamas, yawning as he did, and buried himself under his blankets, hoping for a peaceful sleep.

~ ~ ~ ~

Harry woke in the darkness of his room with a start—a bright green flash still staining his vision. He threw off the duvet and untangled his feet—suddenly too hot. He took a few deep breaths, calming his heart rate, and moved to his window. The moon was still hours from setting, meaning it was after midnight, but not even close to daybreak. As he stood, mesmerized by the swaying flora outside of his window, his stomach growled. They had some leftover takeout in the fridge, so he padded barefoot down the hall and into the kitchen, the dream that woke him long-forgotten.

Lily came into the kitchen as he was eating, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What's wrong, Harry? Why are you up?" She took the seat beside him and resting her sleep-laden head heavily on one hand.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm sorry I woke you. I just woke up hungry and decided to get some of the leftovers. You can go back to bed." He smiled at her as she yawned, stood, and returned to her room. He finished his late-night—or was it early morning?—snack and returned to his room. He sat for a while with his bedside lamp on looking at the moving photos of his parents waving up at him. He turned off the lamp, holding the photo album to his chest, and fell into a dreamless sleep. But a dreamless sleep was better than one filled with nightmares of returning Dark Lords, bright green curses, and the Dursleys.

The next morning saw Harry at the breakfast table with messy hair and bags under his eyes. Unfortunately, even though he hadn't had any more nightmares, sleep had not come easy and the fact that his body was used to waking up at 7:00 every morning didn't help. So he hadn't had a very good sleep and the other occupants of the table noticed this. They didn't say anything, probably assuming that Harry would brush it off as nothing. And they'd be right.

Breakfast was cooked by Kreature—which Sirius had lent to Severus because it was the first morning back from school for all of them, and Severus would have another teenager to cook for—and consisted of coffee for Severus, and tea for the others. They all had fried eggs and beans on toast with bangers and bacon. Harry was glad his stomach wasn't as tiny as it was when he first came to Hogwarts. He would never have been able to even imagine eating all of the food on his plate. Surprisingly enough, Kreature always cooked fantastic meals, despite his permanently cross personality. He never burnt a meal or served a bad dish, not even to Sirius, who he hated more than anyone. So Harry, Severus, and Lily all enjoyed their meals; the latter two were glad to see Harry perk up considerably once he had gotten some breakfast in him.


	21. Chapter 21

Harry soon found out that life in the Snape house was far more laid-back than he had thought. That isn't to say he had no chores or responsibilities, but compared to the Dursleys—he needed to stop comparing things to the Dursleys. Anyway, one reason Lily said she was really glad he was there were that chores would be farther spread, meaning neither her nor her father had to do as much as they had before. He was glad as well because he didn't have to do nearly as much as he had at the Dursleys—again with that comparison—and at the end of it all, he actually had some time to read all the books he'd gotten from school and Hermione over the years. He was glad. He enjoyed reading when he could do it, but he was never allowed magic-related books at the Dursleys' and between having a Dark Lord after his arse and finals every year, he never really had time to read beyond what he had to read for school. So when he was playing one-on-one Quidditch with Lily, he was reading, and when they got their Hogwarts letters and got their school supplies, he read his school books.

Life was good for Harry Potter for the first time in 14 years.

Severus had even offered to give him potions lessons like he gave his daughter. He brought it up the day they came home from getting their school supplies and he found Harry in the common room reading their new potions textbook. "How would you like it if I gave you lessons in potions? Your mother was brilliant in potions and if your father hadn't been so much of a class clown, I'm sure he would have been very good as well. I suspect that you have not truly been performing to your full potential because of your situation. Is that correct?" Harry flushed a little, shamed for reasons he did not know, and nodded cautiously, as if afraid it was a joke or something that would be taken away in the blink of an eye.

Now, Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings were spent in Severus' potions lab with Lily and the Potion Master. He learned how to perfectly brew a Confusing Concoction, a potion he'd had trouble with, in his Third Year, on the first try. He helped them get ahead on potions brewing for the coming year. He let them try it on their own first, then gave the two pointers and constructive criticism to help them learn what they did wrong and how to fix it. With the more touchy potions, he demonstrated the brewing process before allowing them to try it and kept a close eye on them.

On Harry's birthday, He had Hermione, Ron, the Twins, Luna, Ginny, Cedric, and a handful of the more familiar Slytherins and Gryffindors over for his first real birthday party—shame it was when he was turning 15. He got more presents than he ever dreamed of getting on a birthday. His friends had more options on presents now that they weren't limited to what an owl could carry.

He wasn't surprised that Hermione's gift was enough books to fill two shelves on his bookshelf. But they were on all types of topics that she knew would interest Harry: Animagi, Potions, Arithmancy, Quidditch, DADA and more. Of course, Ron rolled his eyes when Harry opened the large box and began pulling out book after book, but Harry genuinely thanked Hermione for them, now he had more to read in his free time. Ron gave him a box of chocolate frogs and several boxes of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and some of Mrs Weasley's homemade fudge—it was a present on behalf of most if not all of the Weasleys. Fred and George gave him several finished products for their new business, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Draco and the other Slytherins gave him books on the History of Slytherins and on famous Witches and Wizard that were in Slytherin and lots of Slytherin mementos to keep in his new room. Cedric gave him a brand new Broom Care Kit. Luna gave him a homemade... something. He still wasn't sure what it was, but it was a sculpture of some sort. Nevertheless, he kept it on top of his bookshelf where he could see it every day. Ginny's present was included with the other Weasleys' and she had helped her mother make the fudge.

Harry could easily say that it was the best birthday he'd ever had, even if Sirius hadn't been allowed to come and Remus was with him to keep him company, but he sent his present—a book on patronuses and a book on werewolves—ahead of time. He'd wasted the evening away reading some of the multitudes of books he'd gotten—apparently people didn't know what to get him—until it was time for Severus' special potions lesson.

As he did for his daughter, on Harry's birthday, he set up a special potions lesson where they would learn to brew something that wasn't in the curriculum—not even up to Seventh Year. He taught them potions only a Potions Master could learn and he taught them to do them well. Not to mention it was a perfect opportunity for Harry to test out the new potions kit Severus had gotten him. He'd seen the deplorable state of his current one during the past school year and was determined he would not use such a disgraceful set again. So Harry now had new knives, stirring rods, flasks, spoons, and a beautiful new cauldron. He'd thanked his professor—now guardian—profusely once he opened the gift. He'd set it aside gently, careful not to mess it up before he got the chance to use it.

Today, they were brewing the very same Fire Protection Potion Harry and Hermione drank in their First Year to get through the Potions Master's puzzle. Harry was always glad to learn new things and he was so much happier to do this than what he normally did on his birthday. Anyone with a birthday was completely exempt from chores for that day. Harry hardly knew what to do with himself.

But Fifth Year was coming, and fast. Two weeks before school started, Severus had to come into work to prepare for the coming students and lessons. Lily and Harry were allowed to stay home while he was away. He would floo there and floo home each morning and evening. He'd asked them if they would like to continue riding the train or if they wanted to floo to the school with him when he left. They both wanted to be with their friends.

During the summer, Harry spent a week at the Burrow. The week after Harry's birthday, in fact. Mrs Weasley _insisted_ on baking him a cake and cooking his birthday dinner. He got to spend time with some of his favourite people and give Fred and George some advice on the products they'd given him for his birthday. Lily was, of course, invited, but she opted to spend some quality time with her father. They hadn't had much time for just the two of them since Harry had come into their lives, and it was good for them to have some father-daughter-bonding time.

This all to say, Harry Potter's life had improved dramatically. He couldn't believe that after what he had been forced to endure the majority of his life, he could have the happiness he was experiencing now. He only hoped it would last.


	22. Chapter 22

Severus, Lily, and Harry flooed to Platform 9 ¾ on September 1st, trunks, Hedwig, and Lily's new kitten, Sapphire, in hand. They were met with the Weasleys and the Grangers. Cedric had graduated, so he wouldn't be joining them and the others were already waiting on the train. They all helped each other get their luggage on the train before returning to their parents and guardians. Lily and Harry said goodbye to Severus; they didn't hug him because they didn't want to mess with his reputation as the cold Potions Professor. The Weasley adults were swarmed in hugs and kisses, well-wishes and promise to write every week. Teary goodbyes from the Mrs. and long-lasting waves from the Mr.

They joined Neville and Luna in the compartment. It wasn't as crowded now that Cedric wasn't with them—Luna didn't have to sit on Ginny's lap, but she chose to—so there was a whole seat for Hedwig, Crookshanks, Sapphire, and Trevor; the Twins still preferred to sit atop the luggage racks.

They spent much of the ride by sharing what they did over the summer. Harry and Lily excitedly shared all the potions they had learned and how much fun it was to play on the Snapes' little Quidditch pitch. How Harry was so happy at his new home and that he wouldn't be against coming home for the holidays.

Hermione told them how, after Harry's birthday, she and her parents took a vacation in Australia. She told them what she had learned about the Flora and Fauna indigenous to that area. Luna, Lily, and Harry seemed to be the only ones very interested. Ron and the Twins rolled their eyes the whole time.

Luna told them how she and her father had taken a trip to a few national parks in America. She told them about all of the strange and unusual creatures they found while they were there. She ranted dreamily for a while until everyone grew tired of hearing about these seemingly fictional creatures.

Next, Fred and George shared their inventing and experimenting stories and how they were able to open a store in Diagon Alley—currently being run by a trustworthy friend while they were in school—and how much they had done with it. They were planning on giving out free samples throughout the school year to advertise their products. They had two suitcases filled with said samples. Hermione seemed to itch to confiscate them—she could now that she was a prefect.

Neville told about all of the herbology related books he'd been so happy to receive. He also told about the enchanting plants he'd found in a wizard's park near his home. He told Hermione, Lily, and Harry specifically about one plant that was supposed to dramatically speed up the brewing process in potions, which would be a really big development for potions with long brewing times or high-demand potions like medi-potions.

They were interrupted halfway through the trip—Hermione was interrupted while reading, Harry and Lily were playing Exploding Snaps, and Ginny, the Twins, and Neville watched Luna beat Ron at chess. Draco Malfoy opened the compartment door alone, no Crabbe, no Goyle. Not even Zabini or Parkinson. He already had his robes on and had an uncomfortable look under his cold façade. He wouldn't look at the Weasley side of the carriage and he barely glanced at Hermione. He, instead, addressed Lily and Harry, "Severus told me before I got on the train, to see him after you're seen to your dorms. He wants to talk to both of you. Don't ask what; I don't know." He turned on his heel, prepared to walk away when Hermione spoke up—much to the surprise of them all.

"Would you like to join us, Draco? We're out a friend since Cedric graduated last year."

He turned and looked at them all, surprised. Ron seemed angry until Ginny elbowed him and he shrugged, continuing his game with Luna who hadn't paid any mind to the Slytherin. Draco relaxed a bit from his uptight posture and looked a little pleased, "I'm sitting with my other friends. But..." He paused, "Thank you... Granger." He turned once more, closing the door softly behind him and rejoining his friends. They all smiled at each other. They may have a new member of the Core before the end of the year.

~ ~ ~ ~

Unfortunately, students weren't allowed to mix houses at the Welcoming Feast—that much was made clear at the End-of-Term Feast—so Harry and Lily sat with Draco at the Slytherin Table, Neville sat with his new friends in Hufflepuff, Ron sat with Ginny and the Twins at Gryffindor, and Hermione sat with Luna at Ravenclaw. The sorting was rather boring. Most of the First Years went to Gryffindor or Ravenclaw—but mostly Gryffindor. There were a few Slytherins and though some were of pureblood descent, those who were not, seemed more than a little frightened, but—as the new Slytherin Prefects—Harry and Lily would take care of them. But when they saw Harry sitting at the Slytherin table sporting a Slytherin tie and a Prefect badge, well... they still didn't seem comfortable. They mostly just stared at him in awe.

Harry had gotten too used to being stared at to be bothered by it so he simply ignored the little eyes as he listened to Dumbledore's annual Welcoming Speech. During the Welcoming Feast, Dumbledore introduced a Professor Umbridge as Professor for the DADA by the Ministry. No one seemed very happy about the toad-faced woman with a high-pitched voice being the DADA professor. Harry had a bad feeling about this year. Why couldn't he have a normal school year for once?

The evening went on. The always-marvellous Feast was laid before them and they ate to their hearts' content. Once they had all been stuffed with good food and delicious desserts, the food and plates and cups and everything else on the tables disappeared. Dumbledore gave his final words of nonsense and dismissed them for their Common Rooms. Harry and Lily join together in corralling the new first years and the new 4th Year re-sorts. Lily led the girls and Harry led the boys. Asking First Years to wait in the Common Room for him, he took the 4th Years first, letting them get settled in and understanding how difficult it might be for them. He was able to give them a bit of a pep talk—especially those from Gryffindor. He told him how he felt like an outcast at first, but when he needed help, Slytherin was there for him, even in spite of their past difference.

"Slytherin takes care of their own." He said to the nervous faces staring back at him in the Fourth Year hallway, "If you need anything, find a Prefect and I can guarantee they'll help in any way that they can—including myself." He pauses. They all seem a little more relaxed, "Okay. Your room assignments are next to the door. You will probably have a room with a prior Slytherin, but don't worry about it. Now, settle yourselves in and if you're comfortable you can join us in the Common Room. But we understand if you're not comfortable enough yet. I'll see you all in the morning to give you your schedules. Goodnight."

He left them to find their rooms, returning to the First Years in the Common Room. They were standing where he'd left them, talking amongst themselves. He called to them, took them to _their_ hallway, and gave them the First Year speech before allowing _them_ to settle in as well. He rejoined Lily in the Common Room for a few games of Wizards' Chess before bed.


	23. Chapter 23

The next morning, Lily and Harry woke up early to get ready, get the Slytherin Schedules—Lily got years 1-3 and Harry got years 4-7—and make sure the First Years were awake on time and knew when they had to be awake to get themselves ready and not miss breakfast. Unlike Gryffindor—who passes their schedules out at breakfast—Slytherins gather in the common room by Year to get their schedules beginning with Seventh Years and going down so the prefects could lead First Years to the Great Hall until they got used to the castle and its halls and staircases.

When they reached the Great Hall, Harry was relieved to see the Fourth Years comfortably conversing with their housemates, even with those who had already been—and had stayed as—Slytherins. He hoped that his pep talk had a good influence on them. He was also happy to see Luna, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Ginny, and the Twins. Now, instead of the First Years of Hogwarts only staring at Harry, the entire Year in the hall was staring at their group. Whispered questions of high-voiced Firsties led way to the answered whispers of "The Core" and "The Core 9" and similar sentiments. They simply ignored it. They had gotten the same thing from the Hogwarts students the last year, except this time they didn't have Cedric with them.

Harry and Lily were settling down to their breakfast after getting the First Years seated when a hand from someone behind them came to rest on either of their shoulders. Harry turned and jumped up in joy when he saw his former-Hufflepuff friend standing behind him. The girls ran forward, embracing the young man in bear-hugs to rival Mrs Weasley's. The guys of the group chose simply to shake his hand or smack him warmly on the back. He greeted them all in turn and greeted his other friends from Hufflepuff and other houses.

Once that was over, Harry asked his question, "Not that it isn't amazing to see you again, Cedric, but... why are you here?"

Cedric smiled up at Harry—patting Luna gently on the head as she wrapped her arms around his neck and put a necklace with a charm like the ones on her earrings. "I've got an internship under Professor Flitwick. I'm hoping to be able to teach Charms when he retires. I intern this year and next. After that, I'm an apprentice or assistant of sorts. I teach some lessons and I'm the go-to substitute if he's sick or needs time off."

"That's amazing, Cedric. I can definitely see you as a teacher." Hermione piped in. She had sat back in her seat and was eating some eggs on toast while she read a book about the history of some magical creature or other.

Cedric, instead of standing and making a scene, decided to sit down and sat on the side of Harry Lily wasn't sitting on. "Who has charms today?" He asked.

They all looked at their schedules; Harry, Hermione, Lily, and Luna were the ones who had Charms that term.

"That's too bad, "Cedric replied in response to hearing that Neville, Ginny, Ron, and the Twins didn't have the class. "But, I'm here for some time yet. I may not be able to be a part of Fred and George's class, but what can you do?" They all shrugged.

"We don't—"

"—need someone—"

"—only a year older—"

"—teaching our class—"

"Anyway." The Weasley Twins commented with a playful grin. The table laughed at their antics; they always enjoy the Twins' habit of finishing each other's sentences.

They all sat together for the remainder of lunch. The students shared with Cedric how their summers had been. That is, the bits he hadn't been a part of. He enthused with Hermione about Australia and laughed with the Twins when they shared stories of the pranks they'd pulled on Ron. He sat enraptured when Harry relayed the tale of how he had almost fallen off his broom doing a trick and listened proudly when Lily told him how she had perfectly brewed the Fire-Protection Potion on the first try. He listened to Neville's research on the strange flora of north-eastern Russia and sat enraptured while Luna recounted her adventures with her father. They sat enjoying life, but before too long, it was time to get to class.

Cedric had to leave before them because he had to be with Flitwick when the students came into the classroom. He bid them goodbye, promising to sit with them at lunch and went on his way. Because Harry, Lily, and Hermione already had their school things, and their first class was Charms, they decided that they would save time and just walk with Cedric. They said goodbye—Harry quickly grabbed an apple from a bowl in the centre of the table—and they followed the former-student.

Time to start a new school year. Hopefully, with Cedric there, it wouldn't be as bad as Harry felt it would be.

~ ~ ~ ~

The _Core Ten_ reconvened at lunch, this time at the Hufflepuff table. Ron groaned on about how horrible Umbridge's class was. Even Hermione had something bad to say. She seethed as she told them how there would be no practical learning in Defense. How all they did was read from a children's book on the basics of Defense. Umbridge gave a weeks' worth of detention to anyone who spoke out against her, "She's a tyrant! Not to mention how obnoxious it is to have to listen to her squeaky voice for an all-class lecture! She's _unbearable!_"

"Bravo." Cedric clapped slowly, "I've never heard you speak against a professor before, well done."

She flushed a little in shame, "Well, it's the truth. I don't know how anyone could hire her. How anyone could even be able to _put up with_ her."

Harry and Lily sighed together. He'd had a bad feeling about that woman. Unfortunately, it seems that he was right.

The group decided to move away from such a distressing topic and the conversation moved onto Quidditch tryouts and whether Harry would make the Slytherin team and who would be the new Gryffindor Seeker.

When they were talking about Harry's odds of being Slytherin Seeker, they heard Draco scoff from behind them. It seems he was leaving the Hall to study the potion they did in class when he heard their conversation. "Potter would get the spot no matter _what_ house he was in. Everyone knows how well he flies. They would be too afraid of humiliating themselves to dare go against him. That is, everyone but _me_" With that, he turned and walked away in his typical façade of Malfoy Swagger™. The others watch him, mouths wide open. He willingly spoke to them, without insulting even a Weasley? Who was that and what had they done with Malfoy?

But they couldn't concentrate on the strange habits of the young Malfoy for long. It was time for Harry and Lily to get to Arithmancy, Hermione to get to Ancient Runes, Neville and Ron to get to Herbology, Luna to get to Defense, and Ginny to get to History of Magic.

Lily was glad for to engagement level required in Ancient Runes so he wouldn't have to think about Dark Lords, or Death Eaters, or strangely acting Malfoys, or the dreaded Professor of Defense. He could chat with Lily and concentrate on his work. He almost wished he'd prepared himself more for the next class.


	24. Chapter 24

Harry understood that each professor decorated their classrooms and offices differently, but what he saw when he walked into Defense was something he'd never seen before. Instead of stone walls, there was pink, lacy wallpaper. Instead of the usual stone floor was a plush pink carpet a few shades darker than the walls. Professor Umbridge's desk was covered in a lacy, pale-pink tablecloth. All the pink was giving him a headache and seemed that his sentiments were shared. It was an all Slytherin class and the green of their robes clashed horrendously with... well... everything. But he wasn't sure any of the other house colours would look much better. Though Gryffindor's might be good for Valentine's Day.

There were several rows with two columns. Each section had three desks. Harry sat closest to the middle of the aisle next to Lily who sat next to Malfoy and they all sat on the left column, somewhere close to the middle. Crabbe and Goyle and Zabini—unfortunately for the latter—all sat in the section behind those three. Zabini was stuck being squashed between the giant oafs.

Everyone in the class looked up and stopped talking when Umbridge came out from what must have been her office and—from what little Harry could see before she closed the door—was even more pink and lacy than her classroom, if possible. They held back a grimace when she began speaking in that high-pitched voice she'd exhibited during the welcoming feast. From there it was the endless torture that would consume 45 minutes of their lives every day for the rest of the term.

~ ~ ~ ~

Harry and Lily joined Hermione in the library for their free period where she's doing her work for Transfiguration—which Harry knew wasn't due for another week and a half. The two Slytherins flopped into seats at Hermione's table. Hermione didn't look up from where her quill was scratching at the parchment, only said, "Defense?" They groaned in response.

"Talking like that can't be good for that woman's voice." Lily complained, "It's just not natural. Especially for six 45-90 minute classes a day all year." Lily's voice had risen above library-acceptable levels and it earned a sharp _'shush' _from Madam Pince who was a couple of bookshelves away putting some books back in their place.

"It was a headache for more than one reason," Harry added in a whisper. "How can one person possibly be that insufferable? And not using wands for_ Defense_? What do she and the Ministry think they're going to teach us? We're going to fail our O.W.L.s if this keeps up. Not to mention how everything is just so... _pink_. How could anyone stand being surrounded by _that much_ pink? I might go blind by the end of the term." Hermione looked at them with empathy. "I'd rather spend a whole day _sorting fan-mail for Lockhart_ than spend another minute listening to that insupportable woman."

Hermione sighed, "Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do. Dumbledore didn't hire her, so likely, he can't fire her without consulting Fudge or the Board of Education. And they're not likely to agree. All we can do is do our best to get through it until Dumbledore can find a new Defense teacher." As she spoke, Lily and Harry started taking out their homework so they could get it all done before evening. The three of them had Astronomy later that night and they didn't want to have to be up too late. They were glad that they didn't have an astronomy lesson more than once a week or every student in the school would be like zombies.

Much like they were becoming with the new Defense Professor.

~ ~ ~ ~

They met the others on the way to the Great Hall. Both Ron and Neville looked as if they'd been through something. Luna and Ginny were more or less fine. Luna's outfit was covered with the fur of whatever creature Hagrid had them studying in Care of Magical Creatures and seemed Happy enough. Ginny looked tired, but considering she had just come from History of Magic with Binns, one couldn't expect much else. But everyone had something to say about their new Defense teacher. About half of the school—anyone who had Defense that term—had something scathing to say on the topic. And the woman sat in her chair at the head table as if it were a throne. If she didn't look so much like a toad, they might have thought she was a peacock, considering how much she was preening. It made her seem even more insufferable in the eyes of her students.

The other teachers noticed the unrest but were powerless to do much to help. Professor McGonagall especially wanted to strike down this new menace in their lives. Everything the woman said was Fudge-worshipping. Honestly, it was like the minister could do no wrong in her eyes. The man didn't walk on water for Merlin's sake. Severus was not at dinner. He was busy penning a letter to Lucius Malfoy. The man had power over every person in the Board of Education. He practically _was_ the Board of Education. If Severus could convince him to take the Umbridge woman out of the school, it would be better for them all. They could simply hire Lupin again. He may be a werewolf, but the students loved him and it would be good to have another protective set of eyes on Harry and Lily. Werewolves protect their pack. Lupin would protect Harry and his friends to the best of his ability. He would suggest it to Dumbledore after dinner when Delores wasn't around.

He watched Harry, Lily, and their friends chatter at their seats. They all looked uncomfortable and frustrated. Then he saw a light pop into Harry's eyes. The same light he saw in Lily's eyes when she had a brilliant idea. He wasn't sure he liked that if he had any of James' blood in him, but he would just have to see.

For now, he would concentrate on talking to Dumbledore and finishing, revising, and editing his letter to the Malfoy patriarch—making sure to include news on how his son was doing.

~ ~ ~ ~

Harry suddenly got a great idea. He pulled Lily and Hermione and Cedric close to him, "I have an idea that would solve one of our problems." They looked at him curiously, "Our problem is that we're not really learning anything in Defense, right?" They nodded and he leaned closer so they could hear him while he whispered, "What if we started our own? A Defense Club of sorts. Some of us could take turns teaching and we'd actually learn something. We could get Professor Snape or Hagrid to be the advisor. I'm sure neither of them would be against it. I'm sure _they_ see how little we're actually learning."

He paused and saw a small smirk on Lily's face, Hermione's was thoughtful, and Cedric was thinking, but he seemed into it. "I think it sounds like a great idea. It could use a bit more fine-tuning and we'll need a better pitch if we're going to convince Professor Snape to be the advisor and we'll need to have a specific set of rules that follow school guidelines so there won't be any reason for Umbridge to be able to disband it." Cedric suggested.

Hermione added, "It might also be good to create a way of communication that's quicker than owls in case we have a sudden change in meeting time or date. We want to be able to get the info to the members as quickly as possible." Harry nodded in agreement.

"Those are all good suggestions and we'll definitely put them into action. Hermione, Lily and I have a free period just before dinner. If Professor Flitwick doesn't mind, maybe you could come and meet us in the library, Cedric?"

"I'm sure he wouldn't."

Lily felt eyes on them and turned to the Head Table. Her father was watching them with a curious glance, hand lightly holding a quill hung over a parchment—the type he only uses for her godfather. She simply smiled at him and he returned to his writing. She returned to the conversation which had switched to the Slytherin Quidditch tryouts next week. She told them how she was planning on trying out for Chaser and did not doubt that Harry would whip the competition at Seeker. The conversation trailed off from there, but Harry's idea didn't leave their minds all night.


	25. Chapter 25

The four weren't able to meet until that Sunday. It was a busy week and the first week always meant homework, homework, and more homework. They hadn't been able to discuss Harry's idea, much less talk about it with the rest of the group. Finally, they got together at the edge of the Forbidden Forest to talk through their plan. Hermione brought plenty of parchment, quills and ink and a little something to transfigure into a short desk to put on her lap.

"Alright, let's get started." She said, dipping a quill and hovering it over some parchment. "First, we need to get some school-friendly rules in order."

"What about the form of communication? I have a feeling that will be more difficult to figure out."

"I already have a few ideas, some better than others, but while we're together, we should collectively decide on a rulebook of sorts as well as who will be teaching. Has anyone had the chance to talk to Professor Snape yet?"

"Harry and I," Lily chimed, "have tea with my father every Wednesday evening. We asked him then, explaining the situation, and he agreed if we could get everything necessary together, he would have no problem supervising."

"That's great. So, that's one problem down. Next, we can start with some basic rules and guidelines now, and elaborate on them later if need be. Now, let's begin. First of all..."

~ ~ ~ ~

They all sat at lunch, tired and feeling as of their brains were fried. They had gotten the rule list finished. All that was left was to revise it, but they decided Lily, Harry and Hermione would do that during their Free Period the next day. Harry and Lily nearly forgot about Slytherin Quidditch Tryouts taking place after lunch. And they would have had the Potions' Professor not came to remind them both. They stuffed themselves quickly as they could and rushed out to the pitch to try and get some practice in before the tryouts. It was nearly half an hour before any other Slytherins made their way to the pitch, led by the team captain and Malfoy.

"Ready to lose Seeker Status, Potter?" Malfoy walked up in all his swagger.

"You wish, Malfoy." Harry laughed. It was clear that there was far less hostility then there had been in prior years. It wasn't perfect. They weren't skipping arm in arm around the Quidditch Pitch singing, but it was better.

"Alright. That's enough chit chat for now. Get in your groups. Those trying for Seeker, to my left. Those trying for Keeper, to their left. Chasers, next to them. And finally Beaters, to my right. Get your brooms and into your groups."

Here, Lily and Harry split up. Lily moved to the chaser group and Harry moved to the Seekers. And Quidditch Tryouts commenced. Beaters went first—the Captain wanted to get dealing with Bludgers out of the way. She chose a group of five finalists which she would decide from and they would have their answers by Dinner or Breakfast at the latest. Next were the Keepers then came the Seekers. There weren't very many trying for Seeker. The only truly noticeable ones being Malfoy and Potter. The captain let out the Snitch, blew her whistle, and the Seekers were off in a flurry of twigs, dirt, and grass. Most of them chose to show off their skills, not focusing on where the Snitch was or where it was going, but Harry and Draco were neck and neck, just behind the Snitch. They flew around and around the pitch, the little golden ball keeping just out of reach. Round and round they went, not allowing the other to get ahead. The others had given up. Because of all their showing off, they were far too behind to catch up with the other two. It looked as if no one would get the Snitch and they would be flying around the Pitch forever. But the Snitch took a sudden turn towards the ground and Harry—being used to requiring fast reflexes, was hot on its tail and Malfoy was ever so slightly behind. But he quickly caught up. They were getting closer and closer to the ground and Malfoy was looking a little nervous, but Harry urged his broom to go a little faster. Gasps and screams were heard from the other Slytherins and they got closer and closer to the ground.

About 10 meters from the ground, Malfoy bailed, choosing to land safely back with the group, "If Potter wants to get himself killed, he can be my guest."

Harry kept on, and less than 2 meters from the ground, he caught the Snitch. He quickly pulled up in the sharpest turn he's ever made. He flew around the pitch a little while to decrease his momentum so he could land safely as the other students cheered. Malfoy looked utterly gobsmacked as Slytherins cheered all around him and even the captain looked impressed. He landed carefully and handed the practice Snitch back to the Captain to return to its box.

"I think it's already clear who won the Seeker position. Congratulations Mr Potter. You will be a great asset to our team." She turned to address the rest, "The Seeker Tryouts are finished. You may all leave, and better luck next year. The rest, you will hear from me by Dinner or Breakfast tomorrow. Go shower and enjoy the rest of your evening. You're dismissed."

The group split and Lily found Harry again. They were joined by their friends who Harry hadn't noticed had been watching from the stands. They all congratulated Harry, but let both Lily and Harry break for a shower when they got a whiff of them—especially Harry. They all rejoined by a tree next to the lake. It was starting to get cooler but pleasantly. They chatted idly about Quidditch and Wizard's Chess, and classes.

Hermione had started scolding Ron about not having already finished his homework for the weekend when Harry saw something move at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Lily asked what was wrong as he stood up. He didn't answer her. HE didn't know why, but something was drawing him to the edge of the forest. Perhaps he should be warier, but he had his wand at the ready, and he couldn't have kept his feet from moving forward if he'd wanted to. So, on he walked. His friends followed him closely, trying to get his attention, but failing.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw what he had been drawn to. It was a snake. A baby, by the looks of it. It was hurt and bleeding. Blood seeping into the crevices between its dark green scales. Harry gently knelt about a meter and a half away from the poor creature. His friends stopped behind him with a gasp, which alerted the little snake. It tasted the air in Harry's direction and carefully, sluggishly slithered its way towards Harry.

_"Young Speaker, I beg your assistance."_ It spoke to Harry in Parseltongue before collapsing in front of him. He carefully took the little thing in his hands, cleaned it up best he could with the hem of his robes, tore off a clean strip from his sleeve, and wrapped it around the snake's injured midsection. He tucked it into his robes and carefully carried it to Hagrid—who was the Care of Magical Creatures Professor—to see if he could do anything. When Hagrid saw the little thing, he quickly took it into his hut to properly warm it up. He carefully unwrapped Harry's make-shift bandage and got some things he saved in case he found an injured creature in the Forest. He was quick to work to help the little creature and in a short amount of time, the snake was snuggly tucked in a sweater Hagrid had knitted especially for the snakes—Hermione had been kind enough to teach him to knit when he asked—and wrapped in a snake-friendly bandage. Harry was holding the poor thing as it woke up and it began moving.


	26. Chapter 26

The first thing the snake said was, _"Young Speaker?"_ Harry held the back of his hand in front of the baby's searching tongue. It relaxed when it recognized Harry. _"Thank you for saving me, Young Speaker!"_

_"Please," _Harry replied, _"call me Harry. I'm glad I noticed you in time."_

The snake let out a little laugh, how that was possible, none of them knew, _"As am I, Harry."_ He—for Hagrid had been telling the others while they talked that the baby snake was a he—tasted the air, _"Who are your friends? And the half-giant?"_

_"The half-giant is Hagrid and he helped heal and bandage you because I didn't know how. Hermione is beside me, Ron is beside her, and then there's Cedric, Luna, Neville, Ginny, and Lily—or Lilith—on my other side. And you know my name. What's yours?"_

_"I don't have one yet. When I was hatched, my parents were dead. I don't know how, but they and my siblings were all dead when I hatched. It was late at night and as I travelled to find something to eat and someone to care for me, I was grabbed by an owl that tried to feed me to its hatchlings. I got away with no more than a nip, but the fall stunned me and had I not fallen into a pile of leaves and sunk through, I might have been eaten. I was unconscious until almost 15 minutes before you found me. Then I made my way towards where I could feel your energy as best as I could."_

_"That sounds horrible! I'm so glad you're okay. And, please, accept my condolences for your family."_

_"Thank you."_

Their conversation was interrupted by Cedric, "What's going to happen with the snake?"

Harry looked down at the little thing in his hands, _"Would you want to stay with me? Even if only while you recover?"_

The snake looked up, _"I would like that very much thank you. But I would be more than happy to become your familiar. I have nothing else in the wild and it's nice to have someone to talk to."_

Harry smiled and returned his gaze to his friends, "He would like to stay." Hermione smiled at him but hoped Hedwig wouldn't mind another companion.

~ ~ ~ ~

The news of Quidditch tryouts came at dinner. Lily along with 2 prior Chasers—one being the Captain—are part of this year's team, two seventh years were the Beaters, and a Second Year—surprisingly enough—became Keeper. They also got a schedule for practices with the promise that the team would know well before if anything on the schedule needed to change. On top of that, they were given the date and the House they were going against for their first match. It would be October 7th, against Gryffindor. Harry hadn't even thought about the fact that he would be Seeker against his former team. And Angelina was Captain this year, which meant unless Slytherin could get their act together and play fair, they would likely lose. Whatever the rest of the team did, Harry would just do what he was used to doing. Wait for the team to get up in points enough and then when he caught sight of the Snitch, race for it. And _voila_. The win for Slytherin. At least, that's what he hoped would happen.

For now, he would concentrate on his friends and what their plans for the Defense Club. Hermione suggested that Harry and Cedric Co-Teach while Hermione and Lily be occasional assistants. Cedric was more than happy to help in any way he could and it would give him some teaching experience, but Harry refused.

"I'm no teacher, Hermione. I don't know anything about teaching Defense."

"But, Harry. You have the most real-world experience with it. None of the rest of us can say that. We need someone to teach us who knows what it's like."

"But that wasn't because of any skill in Defense! I've only ever practically used one or two spells in Defense. Every other time I had help from other people. I really have little-to-no skill, myself. What do you expect me to be able to do?"

"Don't think I haven't seen you help First Years with their homework for years now. You're a wonderful teacher! Don't underestimate yourself so much."

Harry sighed and, just to get her to stop talking about it, said, "I'll think about it."

She didn't seem satisfied, but she could take a hint and she was willing to let it go for that moment. And Harry was able to continue his meal in peace. He enjoyed talking with Theseus—which he had named the snake after the Wise and Strong, Greek Demi-God—and feeding him. The House-Elves had been considerate enough to leave a small container of dead insects and worms by Harry's usual seat for Theseus to eat. So they were all full and happy.

Despite thoughts of the new Defense Club and Umbridge and everything else that could possibly go wrong, Harry slept well that night with Theseus curled up on his chest.

~ ~ ~ ~

It had been a trying morning for Theseus at Breakfast. Hedwig had stopped by with a letter from Sirius and Remus with well-wishes for the school year. But when Hedwig saw Theseus curled up beside Harry's plate, she dove for him. It was quite the fiasco. Theseus had quickly slithered up Harry's arm and hid under his robes to hide. Harry had to hold his owl back from trying to follow the snake, scolding her. Feathers, food, and tableware filled the air as she struggled. He took her outside where she wouldn't make as much of a scene to try to calm her down. Eventually, he did, and though she still looked suspiciously—and sometimes hungrily—at Theseus, she made no more moves for him.

In Charms, Theseus was tired and full, so he slept through the class without disturbing anyone. He woke briefly in transfiguration to cool down a bit by coming out from under Harry's robes. Some students tried to make a fuss, but McGonagall said she knew the reason Harry had the snake and had no problem with it as long as it could behave itself and as long as Harry wasn't distracted—everyone else could just mind their own business (though she didn't say it that way).

Potions class was amusing as well. Because the Potions' Professor didn't take meals in the Great Hall regularly, he hadn't yet heard about Harry's new companion. So when Harry walked into his lab with a rare, young snake coiled around the boy's arm, he was nearly shocked out of his composure but stored away the information to ask his charge about later.

Defence was far more amusing. When Umbridge saw Theseus, she proper shrieked and nearly jumped atop her desk. With a fearful stutter, she informed Harry of the tiny reptile coiled around his neck. He informed her that he knew Theseus was there and that he preferred being there to being in a pocket or bag. She regained her composure and calmly as she could, continued her lesson. But she kept a wary eye on the snakelet the entirety of the class.

Professor Vector didn't particularly like the idea of a snake in her classroom but didn't mind as long as everyone did their work. And Theseus simply stayed in the dorm so Professor Sinistra didn't see him.

So it was a pleasant day, more or less.


	27. Chapter 27

The first Quidditch match of the year came far more quickly than expected. With days full of practices, classes, homework—they used what little time they had when they weren't sleeping—for Defense Club planning. So far they had finished up the rules and offered them to Professor Snape to look over and make sure everything was alright.

Hermione had found a way for them all to communicate in a way that they would always be able to send and receive. She found a charm—called the Protean Charm—that allowed the one who held the Master object—in this case, fake Galleons—could change the message shown on said object. The Galleons were small and people would be able to carry it around wherever they went so they would always be able to receive the messages. It was also charmed to warm up and vibrate when a new message was sent. It was rather ingenious and they were all impressed with her.

Now all that was left to do was to find a meeting space. Professor Snape didn't want to have meetings held in his classroom because there were far too many ways someone could get hurt trying to practice Defense spells. But with how much they accomplished, they felt that they could take a break from planning and enjoy the game. Harry and Ron, though, were nervous wrecks. They always were before a match. And this time, they would be playing _against_ each other, instead of with. Ron wasn't happy with Gryffindor's chances, but he had to trust in their new Seeker. Ginny had tried for Seeker and Chaser but told Angelina that she preferred playing Chaser. She was made Chaser, and a 6th Year was made Seeker.

But now, Harry and Lily had to play against their friends. And, as much as they value their friendship, they wouldn't go easy on them. Their Captain was a good choice of Captain. Her name is and she's a Sixth Year. She's smart and level-headed and makes sure the team knows that anyone who plays unfairly will be off the team and she has replacements at the ready. So no one was willing to try _anything_ that may be considered dirty or cheating. But now is the moment of truth. They're getting ready in the Slytherin locker room and Delphia is giving them a pep talk. More original and uplifting than Wood's was all those years. She warned them strongly that the fact that the season had officially started did not mean that her threat—no, _promise_—didn't still stand and that after the game, they would be off the team before they got off the pitch. It looked like they were all taking it seriously.

Delphia advised Harry to not stay in one spot. Keep moving and occasionally dive for no reason. Gryffindor knows his habits. They know his moves. They know what he usually does in a Quidditch game. He needs to surprise them.

Before long, the whistle for the teams to walk onto the field blew; they grabbed their brooms and were on their way. The sun shone bright and when they stepped out of the cold shadows it warmed them. As Slytherin walked out onto the pitch, so did Gryffindor. The two teams stood, mounted on their brooms, in front of Madam Hooch. Harry knuckle-bumped Ginny and Ron where they stood nearby and Lily high-fived the twins.

Madam Hooch made her usual speech and, as usual, gave a significant look to the Slytherin team when she mentioned a clean game. Delphia turned and gave the same look to her team. The Captains shook hands and the whistle blew to signal the start of the match. Harry was in the air as quickly as he could be and he was followed by the new Gryffindor Seeker. He wasn't being very sly about following what Harry did. Harry watched him and he never looked down at the field. He only watched Harry. So Harry decided to pull a little trick on him. He quickly pushed into a dive and, as he'd expected, the other Seeker followed soon after. He laughed a little to himself as the announcer asked,_ "Has Harry Potter seen the Snitch?"_ And he pulled up and out of the dive. The other Seeker was _almost_ not so lucky. When he pulled up, his feet just brushed the grass of the pitch and he left behind some of his broom's twigs. By the time he got his bearings, Harry was above the rest of the game and was circling the pitch. The Announcer called out the feint and the other Seeker's face was a little red—not just from the rush of cold air—as he returned to watching above the pitch. This time, he didn't watch Harry. He watched the pitch for himself. The game went on and on, no sight of the Snitch. Slytherin was up by nearly 100 points when Harry suddenly dove.

_"Has Harry Potter finally seen the Snitch? Or is this another trick to lure in the Gryffindor Seeker? Merlin's grey beard, I think he's actually seen it!"_

The Gryffindor Seeker hadn't rushed after Harry immediately when he had started diving, but now he was too far behind. He would never catch up. Harry was just behind the snitch, reaching and reaching. The familiar feeling of the Snitch's fluttering wings urged him forward. His broom was moving as fast as possible and he was getting close to the ground. If he didn't get it soon, he'd have to bail. Then, two and a half meters from the ground, he wrapped his fingers around that little, gold ball. He pulled out of the dive and was immediately hit in the head with a stray bludger.

He fell off his broom, it's a good thing he was already so close to the ground, and his broom attempted to make its escape, but Delphia summoned it before it could fly into the Forbidden Forest. His team and the former team all landed and crowded around him. Severus hurried onto the field, carrying an assortment of medi-potions. He asked the students to part and he knelt beside where Harry lay. Lily knelt on the other side of him and watched as her father and Head of House checked where her honorary brother had been struck. He was bleeding and his skull was cracked, but it was nothing that some potions and rest couldn't fix. He could get Poppy to do a scan on his brain to make sure there were no lasting side-effects. Though by the looks of it, there wouldn't be.

Carefully, he levitated the boy above him and above the crowd after administering some basic pain potions. He dismissed the crowd and the teams and told Lily to shower then she may come to the hospital wing to see Harry.

As he was carried away, Harry Potter still clutched the Snitch.


	28. Chapter 28

Harry woke in the Hospital Wing nearly a week after the incident with all of his friends surrounding him. It must be after classes or during a meal because there's no way they'd all be allowed in unless it was. They were talking, playing games, reading books; just waiting for Harry to wake up. They weren't worried. They knew he would. Both Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey affirmed that he would wake, but in his own time. Lily—sitting on the bed next to him—noticed he'd woken up before the rest.

"How're you feeling, Harry?" She asked and everyone grew quiet and turned to him.

"Achy." He replied hoarsely. "What happened?"

"We won, Harry! You caught the Snitch!" Lily was practically vibrating in excitement.

Fred spoke a little guiltily, "I saw you had the Snitch, but a Bludger was after me and I tried to hit it away from anyone, but it flew back around and went for you. No one was close enough to you to stop it."

"That's alright. There was nothing anyone could do. It was an accident." There was a small silence, "How long was I out for?"

"Six days," Hermione answered. "The Professors said they won't make you make all of it up. Just enough to understand where we are, and I can help you the rest of the way."

Harry sat there for a while—Lily had helped him sit up. After a few moments, Madam Pomfrey came into the Main Wing and shooed them out so she could check on Harry. They grumbled but promised that if Harry was still in by tomorrow, they would visit him again.

Madam Pomfrey performed a few tests and declared Harry well enough to leave after she administered a few potions. Harry was glad. He wouldn't be able to make it to dinner, but he got to spend some time in the Common Room and get started on some work before he had to go to bed.

Because he wouldn't make dinner, and he was famished, Madam Pomfrey had a House Elf bring Harry a tray of a few things they were having that evening. He ate happily—wishing he could eat with his friends—and took the potions Pomfrey pushed at him. After she was sure they had all begun to take effect, she let him take off the hospital pyjamas, put on his own clothes, and check out. She called Lily back to help him walk because not using his leg muscles for a week did a number on their strength. He would have to take potions every morning and be sure to exercise his legs to regain his strength in time for the next Quidditch practice—which was put off a week and a half so Harry could get better without having to worry; the next game was between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff anyway. So Harry could relax and focus on catching up in classes.

They made their way through the halls, Harry being supported by Lily who was talking his ear off about all that had happened that week—Severus had been especially stressed out, so much that he took points off _Malfoy_ of all people. Then, Harry heard something. He shushed her and she looked a little indignant but went quiet anyway. Then he heard it again. The lone sound of long robes dragging on the stone floor nearby. No one should be in the halls at this time besides Prefects—no _students_ let alone _Prefects_ had robes long enough to drag on the ground—and this close to the Common Room, there wouldn't be any teachers roaming around other than Severus and Lily knew for a fact that he was in Dumbledore's office discussing Quidditch safety precautions.

They stood, holding their breaths as the sound got closer and closer. Harry's legs, already weak, shook with a sudden rush of adrenaline and anticipation. His knees buckled and his legs collapsed under him, but Lily was shocked stiff and couldn't hold him up. As the sound got closer he felt an aching in his forehead—right where his scar was. It got closer and closer and his scar hurt more and more. He was curled in the fetal position, crying out and clutching his curse-mark, the unidentified person was almost upon them. A silhouette appeared on the other end of the corridor. As it moved closer, the torches in the corridor were violently blown out. The corridor grew darker and darker; Lily grew more and more fearful; Harry felt more and more pain—he was sure this was what the Cruciatus Curse felt like. And still, the silhouette grew closer. The inhabitants of the paintings along the walls fled away from the imposing figure. Knights, Kings, Warriors, Queens. They all ran screaming as frames were thrown from the walls and canvas was torn to ribbons. The figure, clad in a heavy, black cloak, was now only meters away. Lily collapsed to the ground in terror. What could they do? She couldn't leave Harry and he was in no shape to _move_ much less fight. They hadn't even started the Defense Club yet. No one had had practice since the year prior. How could they do anything?

Suddenly, Harry—still clutching his scar—pushed himself onto his hands and clenched his fingers around his wand, his knuckles were pale-white. With shaking hands, he pointed his wand at the figure and—with blood dripping from his scar into his eyes and mouth—said as best he could, "_Incarcerous"_ The figure, apparently not hearing the uttered spell, was wrapped in conjured ropes and fell to the ground. With what little energy he had left, Harry sent a Patronus to Severus in a cry for help. Before he passed out and the Incarcerous lost its power, Lily clumsily picked up her own wand and recast the spell. Just in time, too, because as soon as it took, Harry fell to the ground and his spell fell with him. They hadn't even noticed how his Patronus had changed from the stag to a beautiful barn owl.

Severus came in record time and immediately recognized who stood before them. He didn't know what to do. Should he maintain the image of the loyal servant, or protect his children. His dilemma was solved by the entering of Dumbledore. The Headmaster cast his own Incarcerous, thanked Lily, stunned the figure, and asked Severus to levitate him to his office. He sent a Patronus to Poppy who came quickly to return Harry to the Hospital Wing. By that time, the bleeding had finally stopped. Not even out a day and he was back in the Infirmary. But that's just the luck of Harry James Potter.

~ ~ ~ ~

While Harry slept for another three days as his magic—aided by the potions he that he was given—worked to heal his mind and the damage done to his body. Lily had been given a Calming Drought right after the incident and was fine, but refused to leave Harry's side. She wouldn't even listen to her father. And Severus Snape knew that if she was anything like her mother, nothing could move her and trying would be a waste of time and effort. So he allowed her this and explained the situation to her professors. He visited every day—not to check on Harry, he knew the boy was in good hands with the medi-witch—to make sure that Lily at least, brushed her teeth, showered, changed her clothes, etc. because he was sure that if he didn't she would only move when she needed the restroom. Every time he visited, a new friend was sitting by the boy's bedside. He was gad the child had so many good friends. He needed them after what he'd been forced into in his childhood and even his future. He would pity the boy if he didn't know he had the mind, body, and relationships to get through it. That child would have support whatever he did wherever he went.

The Potion's Professor only hoped his godson would stop falling into dangerous situations. But he knew—probably best of anyone other than Miss Granger and Mr Weasley—how improbable that would truly be.


	29. Chapter 29

Harry found himself in a familiar feeling place, but one he didn't fully recognize. It started a room of pure, blinding white, but quickly faded to show a little nursery. Each wall was a different colour. One, a pastel yellow; another, a pale red-pink; the next, a soft blue; and the last, a gentle green. Each of the house colours. There was a baby's cot under a wide window. It was dark outside the window—night—and snowflakes floated down from the black sky.

At the head of the cot, on the inside, was engraved the initials _H.J.P._ The carpet was soft under his feet and off-white. White and painted with a snake, an eagle, a lion, and a honey badger which moved like the portraits at Hogwarts—the door was closed and light was coming into the room. There were toys and stuffed animals scattered tastefully around the room in places that wouldn't be in the way. In the crib were some stuffed animals: a wolf, a dog, a stag, and a snake. They were settled carefully on top of a baby blanket. The very blanket that he kept in his school trunk during the school year, but was now in the bedside table in his room at home.

The _H.J.P._ on the cot was for Harry James Potter. He was in his old nursery. Suddenly, the door opened, letting the yellow hall-light into the darkroom. The silhouette in the doorway was that of a woman. She speaks and Harry nearly cries when he hears her voice, "Is that you, Harry?" His mother. The woman who gave him life, who gave her own life so that he may live. He threw himself into her arms. Yet, being in her arms didn't feel quite right. It didn't feel _wrong_ but it didn't feel _right_ either. Like he really wasn't supposed to be there_ yet_.

"You've grown so much, child. I wish I had been there to see it. I'm so sorry your father and I had to leave you. I wish one of us could have stayed but there was no way around it."

"It's alright, mum. I understand. I'm not angry at you or dad. I know you both were just doing what you could to protect me. I'm living with Professor Snape now. His daughter and I are both good friends."

"What do you mean you're living with him _now_? Were you living with Sirius before? I doubt he would have given guardianship over you to Severus. He's always loved you a lot."

"Actually, I was living Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon until the middle of Fourth Year."

Lily suddenly froze, like she suddenly couldn't comprehend what he was telling her. "You were with... my sister?"

Harry nodded.

"And... her _horrible_ husband?"

Again, Harry nodded, though more hesitantly.

"For thirteen _years_?" Harry didn't respond this time, he only looked at her with concern. Was she alright? She sat heavily in the rocking chair beside the baby bed. "Why didn't you go to Sirius? Your father's will _specifically_ said you were to go to Sirius if we died."

"He was wrongly accused of betraying you, being a Death Eater, and killing Peter Pettigrew as well as a dozen or so muggles. They sent him to Azkaban without a trial. He escaped in my Third Year and he's been a fugitive ever since."

Lily had dropped her forehead into one hand. "Then why weren't you with Severus all along?" Harry couldn't answer that one. He heard her mutter, _"Damn, meddling, old man."_

Lily stood, shook herself out of her mood and addressed what had bothered her since she came upon him, "Why are you here? You're not..."

"I don't think so. But I think I'm probably pretty close. It feels like I'm supposed to be here eventually, but not yet. Like I don't belong here yet. So I think I'm supposed to go back." Silence. "So, you don't know anything that goes on in the living world?"

Lily shook her head, "Not unless someone I know dies and they can tell me what's happened. And I've heard nothing about you or your life that seemed at all plausible." As Lily was talking, her voice started sounding a bit like it was behind glass. Like there was something between them muffling her voice. She began to grow blurry and Harry reached towards her, but his hands were stopped by some invisible force. She called to him one last time_, "I will watch over you through another. Do not be afraid. You will see me again."_ He heard another voice calling his name. Familiar, comfortable. He could no longer hear his mother as she was pushed farther and farther away from him. As she became fainter the other voice became more and more clear. Instead of whiteness or even blackness, his vision was filled with a red-orange. He realized he was looking at the back of his eyelids and there was light shining on him.

He opened his eyes to be blinded by midday sunlight. When he had blinked the spots from his vision he looked around him. Back in the hospital wing. For some time as he looked around his vision was tinted a little grey. He looked around to figure out who had called him from his death-like sleep. Lily was in an armchair beside him, but her head was in her arms on the side of his bed. She was asleep. Madam Pomfrey was nowhere to be found and the other patients in the Hospital Wing were sleeping or doing their own things quietly—like reading or catching up on homework. No professors or other visitors were anywhere in Harry's line of sight. That must mean it was the middle of class. So what is Lily doing here? She must have been there a while because her things were scattered over the floor and her side of the bed.

He hears the voice call his name again, but this time he knew exactly who it was. He could laugh at the predictability of it. He looked down at his lap—he had sat up—and saw Theseus curled atop his sheets. He chuckled at Theseus' enthusiasm that Harry was awake and his short laughter woke Lily up. She jerked awake and sat up quickly once her brain comprehended where she was and why she had woken up. She looked at him in shock and just sat there with her mouth hanging open and a bit of drool on her cheek. He gave another chuckle and reached a hand forward, using his thumb to wipe away the drool. He wiped it on his sheets and looked back up at her. She had a hand to her cheek and her cheeks had flushed. For reasons unknown to him, Harry blushed as well and looked down at his lap and Theseus. He heard Theseus laugh in Parseltongue and hissed at him to shut up.

Lily had shaken herself out of her shock and excused herself to get Madam Pomfrey. Harry sat for a few minutes wondering why he had reacted the way he had. And why, in Merlin's name, did Theseus laugh?


	30. Chapter 30

When Madam Pomfrey heard from Lily that Harry was awake, she called Severus—who didn't have a class as it was lunchtime, and was grading homework at the time—and told him. Then she proceeded to enter the Main Wing and attend to her patient. "Honestly, Mr Potter. You didn't even get to your Common Room before trouble found you again." The boy flushed, but he was glad that at least people were no longer accusing him of looking for trouble. Lily returned to her seat next to him and continued what she had been doing before she fell asleep—reading the next chapter in their Astronomy textbook.

Only fifteen or twenty minutes after Pomfrey had fire-called him, Severus strode into the Infirmary. He had ink on his right hand and at the edge of the same sleeve. As if he had been shocked into standing and had put his hand in some ink. This was entirely true: he had knocked over his ink bottle and had accidentally spilt a bit of ink; upon placing it upright again, he hadn't thought it important to clean up the minor spill and left in a hurry. Now he calmly joins his daughter alongside his young charge—though his heart still pounded fiercely with exertion and adrenaline. She could see the panic he tried to hide, but she had been around him so long she could see what others could not. She didn't know whether she was glad or not that Harry wasn't around long enough to see the man's well-disguised alarm.

But perhaps it was for the best that he wasn't burdened with the knowledge of the feelings he'd caused in the man. From the time Harry had resorted into Slytherin, the Head of House's opinion of the boy had changed drastically. No longer did he see the young Potter as the epitome of the teenage James Potter. No longer was he the self-important celebrity who thought that the rules didn't apply to him. Now, he was the young man who did his best to avoid trouble, but it always somehow found him. Now he was the willing and eager student itching to know whatever he could about the world he'd be estranged to the first eleven years of his life. He'd become much the Severus' son, which Lily believed is what he might have needed after losing his own son those six long years ago. He might be nine years older than his son would have been, but it was good for him to be able to support and care for Harry like he never would have been able to otherwise.

She also got to feel like she had a younger brother for the first time in her life. Sure he may only be a few months younger than her—more or less—but he was younger than her nonetheless. And she would—of course—hold that over his head as long as she could.

While Lily thought to herself, Severus talked with Harry about what had happened on their way to Common Room. Harry told him as much of the story, and Lily popped out of her reading and her thoughts enough to fill in the blanks where they were. She finally just put her book down when the conversation began to require her attention more. Severus assured them that they needn't worry over their Prefect duties, that he had assigned two trustworthy Slytherins to be temporary Prefects in their stead until they were both ready to resume their duties.

To be honest, that wasn't even something that had crossed their minds.

Severus conjured his work—vanishing the spilt ink—to get something done while he spent time with his godson. Because none of them had eaten yet, Severus ordered some lunch for them. He ordered sandwiches for Lily and himself and some soup for Harry. He didn't want to strain his stomach by forcing it to eat something heavy when he hadn't eaten in days and he was still weak from being unconscious for a week prior. So he decided that soup would be the best choice. Harry would have rather preferred a baked potato or the like, and a nice treacle tart for dessert. But the decision was out of his hands and by the time he finished his lunch, he was glad that it had been. He'd worked hard to get back a normal stomach size since he had been rescued from the Dursleys' clutches, now it seemed that all that work went to waste in the days he had been unconscious. Time to start over.

They all chatted as they ate and worked on homework and—for Severus—grading essays when they were finished eating. Severus had notified the Headmaster that he would not be attending his classes after lunch and suggested he either tell his students it's a free period or find a substitute.

He was finished grading papers and was reading a book he hadn't been able to finish that summer, when a regal-looking owl, one that could only belong to a Malfoy, flew through the Hospital Wing window and landed on Severus' arm. Held gently in its beak was a parchment of the finest material stamps with the Malfoy Crest in Slytherin-green wax. He took the proffered mail, gave the owl one of the only owl treats that the Malfoy owls would accept. It hastily flew off, obviously not expecting an immediate reply. Lily had fallen asleep again and Harry was apparently very into one of the books he'd gotten for his birthday, so he figured whatever the letter had to say would be safe to read.

He broke the seal and unfolding the letter, hoping to read some good news:

_My Dear Friend..._

~ ~ ~ ~

While Harry was being kept in the Hospital Wing, receiving physical therapy to build up his muscles again, Hermione, Ron, Draco, Luna, Neville, Cedric, and the Twins would all come to visit him during their breaks. Hermione took her time to teach Lily and Harry what they had missed in the classes they shared. Draco would do the same with the rest. Whenever they did that when Ron was around he always moaned and groaned—mostly because Hermione made him do his homework at the same time.

It had been nearly a week since he awoke and he hadn't been let out of the Hospital Wing for anything. They didn't want to take any chances. Last time he was let out, he wasn't entirely ready and couldn't defend himself. They wanted to be sure he was well enough that what had happened the last time wouldn't happen again. And as much as it made him stir-crazy, he did understand why. Danger always seemed to find him.

One night he simply couldn't take it anymore and, in true Harry Fashion, snuck out of the Wing and the Castle with his cloak without alerting Lily, Madam Pomfrey, or anyone else in the castle.

The fresh air was heaven to his lungs and he ran and whooped with joy. The night sky was clear and starry; the air was cool and crisp.

He ran to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, letting himself catch his breath beneath a tree before holding his wand high in the air and breathing, "Accio Firebolt." And In moments his broom was racing towards him. He jumped on it and soared through and above the trees of the Forbidden Forest, grinning, laughing, and just having a good time for the first time in weeks.

He knew it wasn't a good idea for him to push himself. He knew it, but he couldn't help it. He felt alive for the first time in a fortnight. But that came back to bite him when he realized he was slowing down. His breathing was shallow and burned in his lungs. But not the normal burn that came with the exercise of Quidditch. This hurt. Like fire consuming him from the inside out. He began to falter and in moments, he, broom and all, began falling from over 50 meters above the ground.


	31. Chapter 31

Harry fell. And fell and fell. He had no air in his lungs. He could not scream. He couldn't breathe. Leaves and limbs sliced his face, arms, and legs. And still, he fell. He didn't know where his broom had gone. He thought he saw it fly towards the school.

Still, for a long time, he fell. And when he finally hit the ground, he couldn't move. He still couldn't breathe and he was afraid to move his limbs lest he finds something broken. Finally, he breathed. One deep aching breath. He coughed and coughed and felt pain in his chest. Broken ribs, probably.

All he could think to himself as he waited for his body to recover from the shock was, _Why did I have to leave the castle? Why did I have to push myself too hard? Will anyone even be able to find me so far into the Forest? Who would come looking that far? What will happen to me? If my legs broke, I won't be able to get out and I don't even know where my broom is. It's still really early. The sun won't be up for hours yet so it could be a long time before anyone noticed he was gone._

While he thought these depressing things something was creeping in from the shadows. He still couldn't move much, but the process sped up when adrenaline rushed through his veins. All he could see was the moonlit bushes shivering to his left. Whatever was there was big and getting closer by the second. He tried to force himself up, but the moment he put pressure on his right leg, he collapsed, screaming, to the ground. The creature stopped in its tracks at the sound but soon rushed forward once more. From the bushes and brushed jumped an Eastern Wolf, indigenous to North America. But what was it doing in Scotland? It rushed toward Harry and through his pain, he lifted his arms to over his head.

But the wolf didn't touch him. She had a coat of red, black, white, orange, and grey. She was beautiful and terrifying.

When Harry realized that she wasn't going to attack him, he pulled his arms away and looked at the magnificent creature. But one thing he noticed the most about her, was her eyes. They were green, unlike any wolf he'd ever known of. Like his own, like his mother's.

At this moment, his mum's words from that dream those days ago, rang through his mind, _"I will watch over you through another. Do not be afraid. You will see me again."_

The she-wolf laid on her side next to him. Letting her thick coat keep him warm. They laid there for a long time while Harry recovered as much as he could from having stood on a broken leg. When they thought he was ready, Harry climbed onto the wolf's back and she rode out of the forest, across the grounds and into the castle. Harry passed out once she went into the Great Hall and didn't wake until the next afternoon.

~ ~ ~ ~

When Harry finally awoke, Severus was standing on one side of his bed, arms crossed, face emotionless. Lily wasn't in the room, but there was something extremely heavy on his chest restricting his breathing and making his barely healed rib ache. He looked and saw it was the wolf from the night before. She laid across his chest and, once she realized he was awake, began licking his face. Harry gently pushed her away. He still didn't know what to think of her because, still, he saw the mother he never got to know in her eyes.

His attention was drawn back to Severus when the man cleared his throat. Now he looked almost angry. Like he did when Neville blew up cauldrons in Potions. Harry didn't notice, but as the man stared at him, his body began curling into itself. Making itself smaller and less of a target. He didn't notice when the green-eyes wolf began licking his face to calm him down.

He could hear nothing when the man began his lecture, pacing, pointing gesturing, and not noticing that anytime he gestured in the boy's direction, he flinched. At least, not until the _wolf _on the bed started growling at him, hackles raised and teeth bared. He was pulled from "parent-teacher-mode" and finally noticed the state of the child he had started to see as the son he was never allowed to have. He saw him shaking, curled in on himself, and pale. He stopped in his tracks and collapsed in Lily's usual chair

Harry was a strong young man, but sometimes he forgot how broken he still _was_. He forgot just how much healing the child—for that was what he was—still had to do. He needed to know just how bad what he had done was, but not in a way that he would have a panic attack every time he was reprimanded. He still needed to build trust between them. He needed Harry to confide in him what he had been through so he knew what limits _not_ to push and which limits were okay to nudge. He couldn't force him, but they wouldn't get anywhere if Harry didn't trust him. This would take a long time, but he was willing as long as Harry was. If he was.

For now, he had to focus on fixing what he had botched so dreadfully. So, he picked his head up from his hands and returned his attention to the boy still shaking in the hospital bed. He stood, sitting on the bed beside him and held back a cringe of guilt when the child pulled away from him. The large wolf at the end of the bed had stopped growling at him when he'd stopped scolding the boy. He reached to pat her head, cautiously, and she licked his hand. He thought he saw a familiar flash of intelligence in those green eyes, but brushed it off. There were more important things to focus on at present.

He reached to hold the boy's hand, to give him as much comfort as he was able, but the moment his hand moved forward, Harry's snake, Theseus, moved to strike him and he had barely gotten his hand out of the way. The wolf decided to sit in front of him. He wasn't sure if she was protecting him from the snake or Harry from _him_. He decided trying physical reassurance would not work.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I should not have talked to you the way that I did. I know I don't fully understand your limits yet, and I should have known the way I spoke to you would not have good results. I want you to know that I _am_ trying to help you get beyond your past in a way that won't hurt you. But it's hard to know when I haven't truly seen or experience all you've been through. I will continue to do my best to let you heal, and I understand if you won't forgive me, but I sincerely hope you do." He paused a moment, "I do, however, recommend that you take a calming drought, for your own health. It would not be good for you to continue the way you are. I will leave after you have taken one if you wish."

He stood and moved to Poppy's potions cabinet—which she gave him a key to—and removed one calming drought before locking the cabinet again. He handed the bottle to Harry, careful not to put his hands too near Theseus. He put himself back in the seat he'd been in, watching out the window as the tension in the room noticeably decreased. "Are you calm now?" Severus returns his gaze to the bed. Harry had stretched his legs out again and he was no longer shaking. He nodded.

Severus reiterated, "Again, I _am _sorry for the way I acted. I really should have known better."

Harry shook his head, "No, I should have been a bit more open about my boundaries and what I could and couldn't handle. I'm sorry." They sat there for a moment.

Then Severus spoke once more, "I want you to know that I would never punish you the ay the Dursleys did. But you still need some sort of consequences. I can understand why you did what you did, but there are still consequences nonetheless. So, for leaving the castle after curfew and going into the Forbidden Forest... once you are well, you will not be allowed to play Quidditch or even _ride_ your broom for a month."

Harry's eyes grew wide and he whispered, "A _month_?" He sat back against his pillows heavily and it looked like the wolf nodded. Perhaps agreeing with Severus? He sighed. He knew Severus wasn't one to be _too_ unjust. And though he did have some prejudices, those hadn't applied to him since last year. He knew whatever punishment he was given must be reasonable. H knew what he did was wrong, and he was willing to accept the punishment.

Severus spoke again, "Now that I have the chance to ask, where did that wolf come from?"


	32. Chapter 32

Once Harry was released from the Hospital Wing, Severus reminded him that his punishment was in effect. One month without Quidditch or flying. As much as he understood why he was being punished, he didn't have to like it.

Severus had found his broom floating on its own next to Hagrid's hut, just outside of the Forbidden Forest, and had taken it into his quarters and locked it in a closet. He knew that if Harry got the notion and encouragement he would try and take it back before the month was up. But a punishment is a punishment and as much as he hated the thought of Slytherin losing the next match on account of not having Harry's expertise, he hated the idea of the boy getting hurt even more.

On the topic of students getting hurt: more and more students were coming back from Umbridge's detentions with scarred hands. Even his own daughter—Umbridge had been inventing degrading reasons why one Harry Potter was absent and Lily, after having to deal with it for over a week, snapped and insulted the toad-faced woman. She came back with these words etched into the back of her hand: _I shall respect my elders_. When Severus saw this, he was beyond furious. He was so angry, he took the horrid woman to Dumbledore's office the night before Harry was released with every student who had had detention with her in tow.

He showed the Headmaster each student's hand from 7th Years, all the way down to 1st Years. The woman, in all her pink wretchedness, simply sat in a chair, smirking, as if nothing could touch her. Dumbledore promised to have a word with Fudge. Surely the minister would not allow the use of such an evil, Dark Artifact. And Severus had to be content with that for the moment. He was sure that if Fudge budged on the subject at all, it would be on account of the Malfoy patriarch and not on account of the ageing Headmaster. He only wished there was something he could do to speed up the process.

Then it hit him, perhaps he could. He could invite Lucius over for tea. Lucius could make an appointment with the minister, act like they had a former arrangement, then offer that they all have tea together. Severus and Lucius could go over the issue with the minister together. The only issues he could see in such a plan would be the meddling of Dumbledore or the toad-woman herself. As long as they could keep the two of them from influencing the meeting, it would all go well.

So, plan in order, he drafted a letter to Lucius detailing everything. That wretched woman would not be near students much longer than necessary if Severus had anything to do about it.

~ ~ ~ ~

Harry, being Harry, got in trouble his first Defense lesson back from the Hospital Wing. It wasn't his fault, though. Or so he might argue. She had been talking bad about him to his face and the class. He could take that. He was used to that with the Dursleys. But when she couldn't get a rise out of him that way, she began insulting his parents and his friends and his new family and his house. That's when he broke. Harry could take anything directed at him—verbal or physical—but the moment you insult his family or friends, that was it.

He'd jumped over his desk, pulling his wand from his robes, and stood over her with the point of the wand a hair from touching her nose. Lily and Hermione had jumped up, pulling him away from the woman before he did something he regretted. When they had succeeded in pulling Harry back to his seat and Umbridge had recovered from her shock, she shouted—dropping the high-voiced façade—that they all had detention with her for the next two weeks and Harry would be banned from Quidditch for the rest of his Hogwarts career. When she said this, the whole class gasped. The longest time she'd given detentions for was a week. Lily looked as if she might cry, holding the back of her right hand where red words were just beginning to fade. Harry had a bad feeling about the detentions. He had to say that this was one of the many moments he wished he'd kept his anger under control.

Surprisingly enough, Severus didn't fault him for his outburst. He explained that had he been in the room, he might have been tempted to do much the same and that he was working on getting her removed from the position. It was three nights of detention before any light seemed to shine at the end of the dark tunnel that they were living that year. It was at lunch on a Saturday when Lily and Harry saw Severus, Mr Malfoy, and the Minister entering and leaving the Great Hall together. They also saw Dumbledore and Umbridge follow. Deciding they wanted to know what was going on more than they cared about getting in trouble, they followed as well. They were about to round the corner when they heard the Minister asking Umbridge and the Headmaster to stay behind as this was a private meeting. They remained in the shadows until the two had passed back into the Hall, then made their way to the door. Harry knocked gingerly, waiting patiently for a reply. Instead of a voice, he was met with Lucius opening the door and—to their shock—inviting them in. They sat on a long couch between Severus and Lucius as the two men talked with Fudge. They also presented they wounded hands—which they suspected was the only reason they had been allowed to intrude—as evidence to Umbridge's crimes. Fudge looked grave. He looked as if he would do something about it.

He sent the children, Severus, and Lucius back to their lunches and asked if they would send his Undersecretary in for him. They nodded politely and left.

Not a word was heard on the topic—all Defence classes were cancelled until further notice—until that evening at dinner when they all saw Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge marching out of the Great Hall with one Delores Umbridge—_former_ Defense Professor—following closely behind and carrying a pink suitcase. Once the doors had closed behind her, the entire Hall—which had fallen silent as they passed through—now erupted in cheers. The professors were somewhat startled by the sudden outburst but were not all that surprised.

Soon, however, the Headmaster was getting everyone's attention. Once they had all quieted he made an announcement. "You need not worry about not having a Defense class again tomorrow, because I have already hired a new professor and he is already up to date with his lessons." He held up a hand when groans rang through the students at their dinner tables, "yes, I know. But I believe you'll like the new—or shall I say old—professor. Please welcome back, Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Remus Lupin!"

He took that time to sit down, knowing that he wouldn't be able to calm the students down from the joyous cheers of their own accord as the young man walked through the doors and sat down to eat. He looked overwhelmed, but he was the most-liked Defense professor yet.

Harry promised himself to ask him about Sirius later on, but for now, he was content to simply eat his dinner.


	33. Chapter 33

The next Quidditch match on the roster didn't bother Harry so much because it was a Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff match, but he still couldn't participate in practices. He wasn't so worried about the rest of the year either—about Umbridge's decree—because her ban was nullified when she lost her job. Dumbledore had announced that the morning after she had left that any long-lasting punishments they would have had to endure by her hand were no longer in effect. Lily had high-fived Harry when they heard that. That meant that the only restriction he had on Quidditch was Severus' punishment—which was a cakewalk in comparison to Umbridge's ban. He would sit in potions detention scrubbing cauldrons every night until he graduated if it meant he could play Quidditch again.

He was lucky it was nothing like that.

He was excited for this match because Cho Chang was playing Seeker and they had gotten to be closer friends—by way of Cedric—during the year prior. So that cold, November day, he was sporting a Slytherin scarf he'd charmed to Ravenclaw colours and a Ravenclaw flag. When Cho saw him and Cedric cheering her on from the stands she waved and smiled at them. Harry could tell she was a little nervous. It was always a little more difficult to play in more extreme temperatures and weather. It didn't help that it was cold, windy, _and_ snowing. But Cho seemed to feel better after seeing them encouraging her and mounted her broom with increased confidence.

The only truly significant thing about the match was that the result was significantly like the '94 World Cup. Hufflepuff caught the snitch, but Ravenclaw won.

Cho didn't seem too bummed that she missed the snitch. She was glad that her team won that round. "Next match is Gryffindor v. Hufflepuff. Then, it's Ravenclaw and Slytherin. The last matches are Slytherin v. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw v. Gryffindor. But I think Slytherin and Ravenclaw will be on the top. Especially now that Cedric, you're no longer _on_ a team. And, Harry, _you're_ on Slytherin. With you as their Seeker and the fact that they've begun reversing their reputation of playing dirty, there's no way they can _lose_. Well, other than against _Ravenclaw_ that is." They all laughed as Cedric and Harry walked her to the Ravenclaw locker rooms and said goodbye.

Cedric and Harry walked back to the castle and parted at the door when Lily met them. As the two honorary siblings made their way to their Common Room, Lily brought up something interesting, "Have you heard about what the school is doing a few days before Winter Break?" Harry shook his head, he wasn't aware that Winter Break would be any different than usual.

"Well, Draco told _me_, that his _father_ told _him_ that one night, a few days before Winter Break, the school will be holding another Yule Ball. Except without two other schools crowding the hall."

"Wow, are you sure?"

"Yeah, Draco always knows these kinds of things. So, who do you think you'll take? Got any girl in mind?"

Harry blushed a little—though he didn't know why, "No, no one comes to mind?"

Lily thought for a moment, "Any boy, then?"

Harry blushed deeper, "No. No boy, either."

Lily laughed, "Shame."

"What?! What do you mean _shame_?" Harry exclaimed indignantly.

She only laughed more and ran past him and shouted, "Last one to the Common Room is a rotten dragon egg!"

And he ran after her, laughing, knowing they could get in trouble for running in the halls, but not really caring. Living in the moment. That's when it hit him. Theseus' snickers. Why he was always so comfortable with her. Why his heart would skip a beat when she laughed. Why he blushed when people—or snakes—implied that he liked her.

Maybe... he did?

His thoughts made him fall behind and she made it into the Common Room before him. She collapsed on the ground, just out of the way, breathing heavily. He stumbled in after her and caught his breath with his hands on his knees. The only other people in the Common Room—everyone else was playing in the snow after the Quidditch game—were Draco and Blaise. They sat together on the couch in front of the fireplace discussing the Charms homework, but Harry didn't remember Flitwick giving any homework. And come to think of it, he didn't remember seeing them at the match.

He didn't have much time to think about it because Draco suddenly said, "If I didn't know better, I'd think you two had known each other your whole lives."

The two looked up at him, then each other, and laughed. "I don't know," Lily answered, "It feels that way too, sometimes. It's just so easy." Harry nodded in agreement, moving to stand in front of the fire.

"Hey!" Draco protested, "You're blocking the heat! You should know by now that I get cold easily."

Without turning around, Harry answered, "Is that why you're sitting so close to Blaise?" He turned for a moment, saw the redness on the face of the young Malfoy, and turned back to the fire, laughing. "Come on, Lily. Let's leave them to their... 'studying'."

Lily laughed, grabbed a book she'd left on an armchair, and followed Harry to Severus' chambers. It was Saturday so he had some grading to do. Sometimes he would let them help with the younger classes so he could get some of the older classes' done. So that's how they spent the evening. It was quiet, pleasant, and when they were finished, they simply read and enjoyed each other's company.

But Harry's mind wasn't on his book. He wasn't thinking about Draco or Blaise, either. His mind was on what his feelings for Lily might mean. On whether he would feel comfortable going to the Yule Ball with anyone else; whether he would still feel comfortable taking her as friends, knowing the way he feels. Perhaps it would be best to act as normal. Just be friends?

Maybe he could tell her? But that could go in multiple ways, most of them bad. She could stop wanting to be his friend. He didn't know what he'd do if they weren't friends anymore. They'd become so close, and they _lived in the same house_ now.

Severus could see that something was on Harry's mind. Not that it was hard to deduce. The boy hadn't turned a page in 15 minutes. He wished he could help, but he was sure Harry wouldn't yet feel comfortable with sharing something so clearly personal with him. He would come to him if he felt that he needed to. For now, he would leave it be.


	34. Chapter 34

The Christmas season was approaching fast, and the Yule Ball was approaching faster. Harry still hadn't worked up the courage to ask Lily again. He didn't know what his problem was, he hadn't had any problems asking her _last_ year. That is, he had trouble asking her until he saw the boys—from all houses—surrounding her at lunch.

He mustered up what Gryffindor was left in him and made a daring rescue from the overwhelmingly large amount of propositions coming Lily's way. He dove through the crowd, grabbed her wrist, and dragged her away from the throng of young men who—Harry could assume—had less than innocent plans for the evening of the Yule Ball. He raced out the large doors and towards the kitchens, glad that he had been able to save her from those barbarians. He finally stopped when they were safe in the kitchens surrounded by house-elves.

When they finally caught their breaths, Lily smiled at him, "Thank you _so_ much, Harry. I didn't know what to do. There were just so many of them and I'm sure Papa wouldn't have approved of many of the methods I thought of."

Harry laughed breathlessly, "I'm sure not. But then he might have done the same had he not been a Professor."

"That is true," She laughed back. They sat of the floor and let Dobby, Winky, and the other elves bring them food, "You're such a great a friend, Harry. I don't know anyone else who would do that for me."

Harry's heart broke a little and he realized that there was no way for her to like him as more than a friend. Oh, look at him pining over his best friend. How cliché is that?

"I'm glad I was able to do anything. But they'll keep coming back and by the way, they were acting, I'm going to assume you don't have anyone going with you yet?"

She shrugged, "I don't. That is, no one has asked me. I guess I assumed we would be going together again unless you wanted to ask the person you like?"

"No, I just didn't want to ask you and you already have someone in mind." She shook her head to that. So Harry and Lily would go together again, and Harry didn't even have to ask romantically. They could still go as friends and the only awkwardness would be on his part. It was—more or less—the perfect situation. And she had an excuse to give to all those boys that wanted to take her. Not to mention he had an excuse for the boys and girls that always seemed to be around the corner.

He heard that Cedric would be taking Cho again, Dean was going with Seamus, Ginny was going on her own—she's a strong independent woman who don't need a man—and he could only assume that Draco would go with Blaise. Or maybe he would go with Pansy to cover up the oh-so-clear relationship between himself and the dark-skinned boy. Nevertheless, _they_ didn't have to worry about other people bombarding them with requests. And Harry was glad for it. He didn't think he'd be able to take anyone else now that he had realized his feelings for Lily.

After sharing their meal silently while the house-elves worked, Harry checked the time and found that—if they didn't leave soon—they would be late for Arithmancy. So they got up, grabbed their things, and rushed out the door only to bump into Cedric on his way to the Charms classroom to teach some Fourth Years.

"Sorry, Cedric,"

"It's fine. But you best get back on your way. Don't want to be late."

So they continued on their way. Harry didn't see the look Cedric gave them as they left. Because the Hufflepuff had seen what had happened in the Great Hall. He'd seen the look Harry had on his face when he saw all the boys surrounding Lily. Whether Harry realized what he felt, Cedric didn't know, but he could see it clear as day. He just hoped, for Harry's sake, that Lily reciprocated. Harry's had enough heartbreak in his life to go through that. Not to mention he still had another couple of years in the same house with her that would be too tension-filled to not be awkward.

But Cedric had faith. Harry might be just as unobservant as he was as a Gryffindor, but _he _wasn't. He saw Lily too. Her gaze always lingered on Harry. But not on his scar. On his eyes or his lips. He saw how she almost ruthlessly turned down boys and girls alike. He hoped she would have the courage to chase Harry because Harry would sit on his feelings forever if it meant that he might lose a friend.

But now he was standing alone in the corridor and he was late for Charms. So, he continued on his way and Harry and Lily burst into their class, finding their seats just before the Professor came in.

For the most part, the rest of the day was uneventful. They had Transfiguration then joined Hermione in the Library for Free Period. She—of course—noticed Harry's feelings long before he did. She'd noticed the year prior when they went to the Yule Ball together. She noticed it in the way he would watch her absentmindedly when he was trying to figure the homework out. In the way his eyes sparkled and his face was so relaxed when he listened to her speak; as he hung on her every word. And she saw it in the little spectacle he'd cause in the Great Hall when Lily had been surrounded by those boys. But knowing Harry, it would be a while yet before he acted.

Hermione was glad—for Harry and Lily's sakes—that Professor Snape had grown to like Harry considerably more than he had the years prior. She didn't even want to imagine what the Potions Professor might do to keep Harry away from his daughter had he disliked her friend as much as he used to.

Resolving to think about it no more, she turned her mind to her homework, and whether Ron would have the courage to ask her to the Yule Ball this year. But mostly on her work.

Dinner soon came and went and the evening met Harry, Lily, Draco, Blaise, and a few others in the Slytherin Common Room. They whiled the evening away playing Wizards Chess, Exploding Snaps—Blaise ended up challenging Harry to a game of poker, and Harry was convinced the cards were charmed to only let Blaise win, but they enjoyed themselves. They were still in the Common by the time that most everyone else was in their dorms getting ready for bed or already in bed. And still, they stayed.

That is, they stayed until Draco fell asleep in Blaise lap while the dark-skinned boy and Harry played another round—which Harry lost, of course. It was at that time that they all decided that maybe they should get to bed. They _did_ have school in the morning and the last thing they wanted to do was to fall asleep in Potions or, Merlin forbid, Transfiguration.

So Harry walked Lily to her staircase leading to the girls' dorms and said goodnight as Blaise carried Draco to their room. Harry supposed he could have levitated the blond, but perhaps it was meant to be a romantic thing. Wow, a romantic Slytherin. That sounds out of character, doesn't it?

That's when Harry thought on the fact that he had just unnecessarily walked Lily to her staircase that wasn't 2 meters from where they had sat. Perhaps a romantic Slytherin isn't such a strange thing after all.

Harry had learned so much about the Slytherin House since he'd been placed there. It wasn't anything like the image they were portrayed as. They were incredibly loyal and would defend one of their own with everything they had. They are much nicer and show way more emotions in private than in front of the rest of the house. Well, excepting, perhaps, Hufflepuff. Harry had learned that his new house isn't as horrible and cold and unfeeling as others wanted to make him think.

He decided as he fell into a peaceful sleep, that he liked his new House considerably more than he had anticipated. He wondered why he hadn't chosen to be a part of it before and was immensely glad for the Fourth Year resort.


	35. Chapter 35

With the Yule Ball approaching fast, and Harry's nerves over discovering his feelings for Lily, there was little time for anything besides preparing for the dance, Quidditch games, and classes. Not to mention he'd had little time to think about the wolf that had been coming and going at strange times ever since he was in the hospital wing. He didn't know what it was but she seemed so... familiar. And trustworthy. Why he should trust a random wolf, he did not know. It was just something about her eyes. He'd never heard of eyes quite that shade of green on a wolf before.

He'd been in the Slytherin Common Room with Theseus and the wolf, finishing up an essay for Potions, when he realized that he didn't have any dress robes. His dress robes from the Yule ball before were too small now, the reason being that he had grown over the summer. But how was he supposed to get them? The ball was coming before the next Hogsmeade trip and ordering clothing by owl was simply too risky so close to the Ball. Perhaps he could transfigure some of his other clothing into dress robes?

Harry dropped his work and stood, accidentally knocking the wolf's sleeping head off his lap. He hastily apologized and raced to his dorm to find _any_ clothing he could spare for the evening of the Ball. But upon opening the door to his dorm, he found a set of dress robes already set out on his bed with a slip of parchment on top.

He picked up the note and it read:

"_Harry,_

_I asked my father to buy these for you. I figured that you would have outgrown your dress robes from last year's Yule Ball. These are equipped with a charm that lets them grow with you so you won't have to buy more until these wear out. Please enjoy them, and don't bother trying to pay my father or me back for them. Just call them a Christmas Gift._

_Yours Truly,_

_D. Malfoy_

Harry set the note down in shock. He knew he and Draco had been becoming better friends, but this was unexpected. If it had been Lily and Professor Snape, he would have expected it. Simply because Lily would be the type to get her father to buy him some dress robes. But that it was from Draco _and Lucius_ Malfoy was so strange, Harry simply stood there, holding the dress robes and staring at them.

It was only when he heard someone clear their throat that he looked away. He turned to the doorway of his dorm and saw Draco standing in the doorway, sporting lightly flushed cheeks.

"Thank you, Draco."

"Whatever," He snarked, cheeks flushing more even in the darkness of the Slytherin Dorm, "I just didn't want you to make a fool of our house by wearing robes that were too small or--Merlin forbid--robes you'd _transfigured_ from _other clothes_."

Now it was Harry's turn to blush. He turned away from the other boy, who had moved to his bed where some textbooks and homework was waiting, he proceeded to carefully remove his new dress robes to a safe space in his wardrobe.

As he was leaving to return to his work in the Common Room, he paused in the doorway, "Thank you, again, Draco."

But the other boy, well into his work once more, had his face buried in a textbook and simply waved Harry away.

Harry decided that he must be busy and returned to his work. What he didn't know, was that Draco was simply hiding a small, pleased smile and a blush behind his textbook. Finally, for the first time in five years, he was making friends with Harry Potter. Who knew that the trick to making friends was simply to be nice?

~ ~ ~ ~

And then came the Yule Ball. The night most girls look forward to and most guys dread. And for Harry, it was a little bit of both. He was looking forward to a night with friends and Lily. But he was also dreading it. What if Lily found out how he felt? Especially if she didn't feel the same way. What if something happened? Voldemort has been rather silent this year. What if he was simply planning something for the night of the Yule Ball when everyone would be in one place? That would be the most logical thing for him to do. Oh, Merlin. What if he attacked the school. What if his friends got hurt? What if _Lily _got hurt. What would he do? What could _anyone _do?

Maybe this was all a bad idea. But he didn't want to disappoint Lily by saying they can't go and then nothing happening. But he knew at this point, he wouldn't be able to relax if he went.

In the end, he decided he would go, he would simply keep his wand on him and be ready to act of something came up. And he was glad to find--upon inspecting his new dress robes to a greater degree--that hidden in an easy-to-reach place was a built-in holster that would conceal his wand. It was perfect. That way he could enjoy himself without worrying about not being able to act in a dangerous situation.

Perhaps he was just being paranoid?

The night of the ball, Lily came into the boy's dorm to find Harry adjusting his robes in the mirror. His hair was the mess it usually was, but she could tell he _tried _to fix it if the comb and brush full of black hairs was any indication.

Lily, herself, was donning a Slytherin-Green evening gown, long and silky. Her hair was styled into an up-do held up by pretty silver butterfly clips that actually fluttered their wings, and probably a bit of magic to keep whisps in place. She was beautiful with silver, snake earrings, and sparkling silver heels. The bright silver of the butterflies contrasted gorgeously with her midnight hair and the dark green dress had the same effect on her smooth, pale skin. Her skin was by no means clear--covered in freckles, moles, and the occasional bit of acne on her face, though those had been glamoured away--but no matter how she looked, Harry would still find her perfect. If she looked like the witches in those muggle bedtime stories, he would still love her, simply because she was so amazing.

He was snapped out of his reverie when Lily began approaching him with a comb and a tub of some sort of hair cream.

"I wouldn't bother," he warned, "I've been trying to fix my hair all evening."

"I'm not going to try to 'fix' it." She ran the comb through his hair, removing all of the knots, "I'm just going to style it a bit." She rubbed some of the gel into her hands and ran her fingers through his locks, moving them and styling them so his hair ended up looking attractively wind-swept, instead of looking like a bird had nested on top of his head.

Across the room, Draco stood with Pansy Parkinson, and Blaise stood with the elder Greengrass sister. Harry was surprised Draco and Blaise weren't going together, but perhaps they wanted to keep their relationship a secret for now.

Harry was jittery, for more than one reason. He was anxious about going as Lily's date, even if it was simply as friends, and he was mostly worried about what could happen while everyone was distracted with the frivolities of the dance. He checked and double-checked that he would be able to reach his wand if need be. Not that he knew what he might do if Voldemort and his Death Eaters burst into the Great Hall during the ball. What would he do? Cast a Patronus? Try to take the wands of every Death Eater before they could stop him? There were still so few spells he knew that he could use in a life-or-death fight. But if nothing else, he promised himself he'd go down fighting.

Is that what a normal 15-year-old is supposed to think about? Certainly Not.

Still, Harry took Lily by the arm with Theseus wrapped around his shoulders--he insisted on coming--and they made their way out of his dorm and towards the Great Hall. When they got to the Hall, it was already full of students talking, laughing, and dancing. Harry subconsciously scanned to room, counting exits and searching for anything suspicious. When he was sure all was well, he and Lily moved to join Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Neville, and their Slytherin friends

From the moment that Harry and Lily joined their group, he knew that Hermione knew something. She had that look in her eyes when she knew something but didn't want to let you know she knew.

She looked between Lily and Harry, thought for a moment, then said loudly to him, "Why don't you go dance with Lily?"

Harry flushed, and she nodded conspiratorily to him. He asked Lily to dance and, of course, as they made their way to the floor, a slow song came on. Harry tried to force the red-hot blush covering his cheeks away. Harry was still scanning the room as they moved around the dance-floor, making sure all was well. But soon, all ideas of possible danger left him as he became enraptured with Lily's beauty. He thought that she must have some veela in her blood somewhere. How could anyone be as beautiful as she is? As kind as she is? As confident and powerful as she is? She's so strong, but that strength and independence is what makes her beautiful to Harry.

As the song ended and Harry was leading Lily off of the dance-floor, the wolf that had been coming and going burst into the Great Hall and howled loudly. Harry and Lily rushed to the wolf, whose hackles were raised as high as he'd ever seen on a wolf. She stood, growing at the door to the Great Hall. Severus quickly made his way over as well. Both he and Harry had their wands in hand, ready to attack whatever would come through that door. The door opened slowly and a piercing pain struck him through his scar. Like someone had a very dull knife and was cutting open his forehead along his scar. But he didn't let that phase him as he came face to face with a horde of death eaters. How had they gotten past the wards? At the head of the group was the Dark Lord himself. 


	36. Chapter 36

The silence was deafening. No one made a sound. No one moved a muscle. Even the wolf was silent. Everyone was on guard, prepared to fight if need be. After a few moments that felt like eternities, Voldemort raises his wand straight into the air, whispering a spell, and the dark mark appeared in the sky.

A scream was heard in the crowd of students and in the next moment all chaos broke out. Thousands of wandless students ran for their dorms. The teachers, Harry, Lily, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Draco, and Blaise all had their wands out and at the ready.

Voldemort yelled, "Do whatever damage you can, but Potter is mine!" Then the Death Eaters charged towards the castle doors. The doors slammed and tables, furniture, decorations, anything they could find was levitated and moved to block the door. Prefects were instructed to send wandless or students 4th year or below back to their dorms. A Gryffindor Prefect tried to bring Ginny with them, but she told them off so thoroughly that McGonagall simply told them to leave her be. They blocked off the door leading to the rest of the castle as well. But the door between them and the Death Eaters wouldn't last for long. They'd been trying to force their way through for nearly 5 minutes, but that was long enough for them to collect themselves and prepare for the coming onslaught.

Then Voldemort yelled, "ENOUGH!" And the doors flew off their hinges, sending everything behind them flying as well. In marched the Dark Lord's Army, casting spells as they went. Those students who had their wands stood around the professors and cast shield spells, protecting those more experienced so they could begin a counter-attack.

As they fought, chunks of the castle, torn off by spells, flew every which way. Witches and Wizards on both sides were falling. Tables, chairs, stones, and anything else they could find were thrown by both sides of the battle. Even as Death Eaters fell, more came to take their place, but there was no one to replace the fallen professors. They were trapped in a losing battle.

It was a horrific scene. The mangled bodies of lesser-known professors little the stones of the Great Hall while the dropped Death Eaters were simply unconscious. As Harry stood with his friends, holding the shielding spell, he wondered why the professors cared so much about spells that could truly hurt someone in such a time of life and death. They were going to lose. So many people would die. Anyone left alive would be at the mercy of the Dark Lord.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as if time had somehow slowed. Harry looked around himself. He saw his friends and classmates putting all of their energy into the shield spell that would mean nothing soon enough. Harry had to make a decision. The only reason they were there was that Voldemort was after _him_. If he stopped this... But that would be stupid. Voldemort wouldn't stop after he had him, he would just keep killing. Then it would all be for nothing. But if he sacrificed himself for the world, maybe it would be something like what his mother did for him? Maybe Voldemort's magic wouldn't be able to hurt anyone?

Lily could see the cogs whirring in Harry's mind, "_No_, Harry. Don't even think about it!"

"You really need to quit with all these sacrifice-yourself-to-save-everyone-else plans." Hermione chimed in.

"Have either of you got a better idea?" He asked. "At this rate, we'll all be killed and it will all be for nought anyway."

"Harry Potter, don't you move a muscle from where you're standing!" Lily shouted.

But he had no choice. Because at that moment, Their world froze. All spell-casting stopped. No one could move. No one, that is, other than the Dark Lord. He stepped through the crowd of his Death Easters to where Harry was standing. He stood before him, pulled him from the ranks of students, and let time unfreeze.

"Now, Mr Potter. It is time that you face me, one on one, once and for all. I challenge you, to a wizard's duel."

If everyone weren't afraid for their lives and the life of their saviour, they might have thought it funny that the Dark Lord was _asking_ for a Wizard's Duel. But they all knew he wasn't really asking.

"Now per the laws of the Wizard's Duel, we will bow to each other." Voldemort bowed to Harry, bending at the waist. "Now it is your turn." And when Harry refused to move, "Now, come, Mr Potter. Didn't those relatives of yours teach you any manners? _Bow_." He tried using imperio, but again Harry refused to do any more than a slight inclination of his head. He would not bow to someone so unworthy of that respect.

Before the duel could begin, however, Lily jumped forward, "I'll be his Second. You can't have a Wizard's duel without seconds. _Everyone_ knows that."

The Dark Lord seemed almost impressed with her gall, gave a curt nod, and summoned Bellatrix, his right hand, from the crowd of his Death Eaters. "And now, we may begin."

Voldemort made the first move, choosing right out of the gate to try the killing curse, which Harry deflected with a shield charm. This went on for a long time. Voldemort would attack, and Harry would block. He made no move to attack, simply waiting for the right moment, hoping to tire out his opponent magically before doing anything too magically strenuous.

When the Dark Lord made a minute pause in his once-steady stream of curses, Harry took his shot. He'd spent the whole time trying to think of a spell that might do some real damage, even if it just kept the evil wizard out of his hair for a while. He remembered Severus teaching Lily and him a spell to use only in emergencies, one that they were told only to whisper. He would use that, but it would be smarter to de-wand his opponent first.

And that's the first spell he cast towards Voldemort, "Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted, just as the Dark Lord went the Killing Curse. The light of their spells met between them and joined their wands together in some strange light show. Then they were in a battle for whose spell would reach the other first, the meeting point moved depending on who was putting the most force into their spell.

At first, Voldemort had a strong lead, forcing the green light of Harry's nightmares towards his wand. And every centimetre that the light moved towards him, Harry pushed harder with his own magic until he was slowly gaining ground back. The red of Harry's _expelliarmus_ overtook Avada-Kedavra-green. But something else strange happened. Out of Voldemort's wand came these ghostly figures. The first was an old man that seemed strangely familiar, the second was his father. He almost expected his mother to follow, but she did not. Only other ghostly strangers. The figure of James Potter moved first towards the wolf, touched her face a moment, then moved to join Harry.

"You've done well, Harry. I'm sorry I couldn't be with you all this time. But know that I'm always watching over you. And I will wait for you in the afterlife when your time comes. But that is still for some time.

"For now, let's focus on moving past this little obstacle. When I say so, disconnect your wands and say that spell of yours. Don't hesitate, you will not have another chance.

"When your wands disconnect, we will disappear, but don't worry. I believe in you. You have so many people who believe in you. Now, on my count of three, disconnect your wands. Ready? One... Two... Three!"

On three, James and the other ghostly figures charged at Voldemort and Harry tugged their wands apart. Upon the disappearance of the figures and the lights, Harry cast his curse.

He whispered, "_Sectumsempra." _


	37. Chapter 37

The Unconscious body of the Dark Lord was carried out by the Death Eaters, who fled as soon as he was in their possession. Everyone stood in shock, watching as they left behind the blood and bodies and broken stones that commemorated this battle as won. There would be several funerals within the month for those teachers lost at the hand of the Death Eaters.

It wasn't until every Death Eater was out of sight, that they noticed Harry had collapsed, exhausted, on the ground. Lily and Severus were the first to reach them, his friends chose to stay back and keep the rest of the survivors at bay. What Harry needed now was rest and Madam Pomfrey, not hordes of concerned students and teachers.

As Severus was checking over Harry for any serious injury and Lily was casting a few minor healing spells, Dumbledore re-entered the scene.

"Well done, everyone. I think this was a good practical lesson of what's to come in the future. Now, let's get everything cleaned up and everyone back to the beds. It's been a long evening." He turned to Severus, "Severus, my boy. I can take Harry to the Hospital Wing. You must go and get some rest."

The moment the old man stepped closer, Severus moved his wand to point it at the Headmaster, "With all _due_ respect, Headmaster, don't take another step towards Harry." He stood to address the man, "Might I ask why, as soon as there was trouble, the _acclaimed_, _most powerful wizard in all wizarding history_ left professors and _children_ to take care of the most feared Dark Lord to date? And why it was left up to a _fifteen-year-old_ to save _an entire school_?" His wand was still pointed at the old man's chest and the others in the room began to look at the Headmaster suspiciously.

"Well, I wanted to be sure that everyone could take care of themselves if I weren't at school. I would have stepped in if it had gotten too bad."

"People have _died_. How is that not too bad? Do you mean if Mr Potter had brushed with death, you would have intervened? Or did you just make up an excuse and you were just running away?"

"Now, Severus-" Professor McGonagall started.

"No, Minerva. That is simply unacceptable behaviour from the Headmaster of the school. Especially a wizard of so many titles. He takes no responsibility for his actions. And on top of that," Severus turned back to the Headmaster, who had been trying to leave, "Why were the wards down? Aren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on them? When the wards begin to wear down you're supposed to call a meeting and the professors are supposed to re-cast them. Why did none of that happen if they were weak enough to fail?"

"Papa." Lily called to Severus, "Harry needs to get to the hospital wing."

Severus turned away from the Headmaster, who vanished--probably off to his office to change his password--and turned his attention back to Harry. He levitated the boy and asked Miss Granger, Mr Weasley, and Lily to clear a path for him. He left him if Madam Pomfrey's care. The poor child is in the Infirmary far too often for his own good.

)o(

When Harry woke up, it was bright, far too bright for his still-tired eyes and he covered his head with his blanket. He heard footsteps coming near him and pulled the blanket off enough to peek one eye at who was approaching. It was Madam Pomfrey carrying a tray of food and levitating a tray of potions. He pulled himself up to a sitting position and dutifully took the tray of food and got started. She placed the tray of potions on the side table with instructions to take them as soon as he'd finished eating and once he'd done that, he had some visitors waiting to be let in.

Beside his bed was a dog bed on top of which slept the wolf. Theseus was curled on a heating pad at the end of the bed, sleeping soundly. As soon as he finished the lunch tray it disappeared and the potions tray floated over from the bedside table. And as soon as he was finished with those, that tray disappeared as well and the doors to the Hospital Wing burst open, allowing entry to all of his friends.

As soon as Hermione reached Harry's bedside she asked a question, "_What_ was the spell you used?!"

"Merlin, Hermione, give him a moment before you begin asking him all sorts of questions!" Ron laughed, following slowly behind her with his hands in his pockets.

"No, Ron. That's not a spell we've been taught before! That spell could be deadly, or dark magic, or anything really!" She turned her attention back to Harry, "_Where did you learn that spell?_"

Lily stood on the other side of his bed, "Papa taught it to us. For use in case of emergencies. I would say an invasion of the Dark Lord would count as an emergency." She turned her attention to Harry, "How are you feeling?"

"A little sore, a little tired. But I'm alright. What happened with Voldemort? Does anyone know?"

They all looked between themselves and shook their heads.

Cedric spoke from the back of the group, "No one's heard anything from that side of the war. There haven't been any attacks or anything."

Harry looked down at his lap. "I had a feeling that the spell wouldn't kill him. Something is holding him here, keeping him from dying. I don't know what it is, but I know he's still out there. But that will give everyone a bit of time to be more prepared for his next attack."

"That _stupid_ hero complex of yours!" Hermione burst out and Harry looked at her with confusion, "Always thinking of others before yourself!"

Everyone started laughing. Harry sat back, enjoying the antics of his friends as they all spent time together. What could be better?

-)o(-

It was the last day of the school year and Harry was walking with Lily down to the Great Hall for the End-of-the-Year Feast. He took a moment to look at Lily. Something between them had changed, but not really. It felt more like he was realizing something that had always been there. He'd thought he loved her. Like he'd thought he'd loved Cho and the one girl that was actually nice to him in Primary. But in every instance he'd realized, he just loved them platonically. But this still was different. He felt like he'd always known her as if they'd grown up together. A different love. Not romantics like he'd thought, and not platonic like Cho and the other girl. More like, the family he'd never had. He supposed like a brother might love a sister.

"What is it?" She was looking at him in confusion, "What are you looking at me for?"

"I'm glad you're in my life. I'm glad I met you."

She grinned at him, "Me too. You're like a brother to me."

Harry smiled back, "I agree."

They entered the Great Hall ready for the Feast. They noticed that all of their friends--even from other houses--were gathered at the Slytherin table, already laughing and enjoying themselves. It was a wonderful sight and Harry and Lily joined them happily, laughing at some joke the twins made and amused by Hermione's disapproving shake of the head. It felt like home being there with their friends. Harry hoped this wouldn't end after they all left Hogwarts.

Cedric stepped down from the professors' table and walked to their group. "I'm glad you're alright, Harry." He said, "Have a good summer." With that, he returned to his own seat.

Harry, blushing, turned back to the group and saw the look on Lily's face. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything."

"No, your face did. Now, just eat already."

"It's not my fault you have a crush on Professor Diggory." She said with a smug look on her face.

Harry hit her in the arm, "Stop that, Lily! And he's not a professor yet, anyway."

"But he will be next year." She laughed. And narrowly avoided another attack from Harry's hands.

He shook his head in exasperation, paused, and turned to the rest of the group, "We'll always be friends right? Even after we leave?"

He was met with a chorus of many affirmatives, of varying degrees of volume and intensity, and he smiled.

He never had friends before Hogwarts, and even until 4th year, he never had many friends besides Hermione and Ron. Now he has so many friends.

It had been a great year, despite the visit of the Dark Lord--which the Propet has begun to call "The Hogwarts Invasion of '95"--and he only hoped that next year would be even better.


End file.
